Means To An End
by Fifilla
Summary: After a cruel attempt on his life, Danny is in critical condition while the rest of the team needs to find out if he was just a random victim or if there's more behind it all. (Danny whump, Steve angst – no slash, no deathfic!)
1. Chapter 1

**Means To An End  
**

**Disclaimer:  
**Sadly I don't own anything related to Hawaii Five-0 :-(

**Thanks:  
********JazzieG**, thank you so much for the betaing, I really don't know what to do without you!**  
rewob17**, thanks a lot for your input – as always it was a pleasure to discuss story ideas with you!

**Notes:  
**English is not my native language, so please forgive me my mistakes.

I hope you enjoy the story...

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Danny hurried out of the bathroom, his hair still damp from his usual morning shower. He swiftly closed the buttons of his light blue dress shirt, throwing a glance at the alarm clock as he grabbed his badge and weapon from the nightstand.

"Damn," he cursed under his breath, angrily shaking his head when the badge slipped from his fingers and rolled under the bed. It was already twenty past eight and Danny was supposed to be picked up by his partner in exactly ten minutes to attend an important meeting at the Governor's office.

He had got up extra early to be on time because if he was only a heartbeat late he would never hear the end of it from his military-army-navy-whatever-punctual-to-the-second partner. And Danny had been on time until his doorbell had rung and that damned electrician had shown up to check the breaker box. Danny frowned angrily, making a mental note to speak to his landlord about that appointment because he could have sworn that the electrician's visit had been scheduled for tomorrow instead of today.

"Oh, for God's sake, I don't have time for this," Danny huffed out when he knelt down and blindly fished for his badge. He hissed out in pain when his fingers came in touch with something sharp and only a second later he had instinctively drawn back his hand and was now staring at the large drop of blood that welled up from his right index finger.

"This is just getting better and better," Danny sighed in annoyed frustration, sucking the blood from his fingertip while he bent forward to look under the bed.

As to be expected the badge had rolled to the farthest corner and Danny groaned softly when he stretched his left arm as far as possible to retrieve the lost item, all the time trying to avoid the little pieces of broken glass that were scattered all over the floor.

Three days ago Grace had tried to surprise her Danno with a self-made breakfast which she had piled up on a big tray, intended to bring it to Danny's bed at half past six on Sunday morning. Unfortunately she had tripped over one of her Barbie dolls that had been lying in the middle of the bedroom and the tray had slipped from her small hands, scattering its contents all over the floor.

Grace had been devastated that her surprise had been spoiled and that she had made a mess of her father's bedroom but Danny had quickly been able to convince her that some broken plates and glasses were not the end of the world and that he loved his Monkey even more for the nice surprise she had prepared for him. They had ended up in a nearby diner and Grace had soon forgotten about the little incident, but during the last few days Danny had found tiny pieces of glass all over his bedroom even after vacuuming the whole room about a million times.

Breathing out a small relieved sigh when he finally got his badge, Danny quickly stood up and clipped the item to his belt, careful not to drop it a second time. He also buckled on his weapon before he grabbed his cell phone and wallet and stowed them away into the pockets of his gray suit pants.

Running his hands over his hair he quickly checked his hairstyle and nodded contentedly, at least one thing was working as planned this morning. He briefly debated if he should wear a tie; the occasion would certainly justify it and it would definitely annoy his partner. A smirk played around his lips when Danny imagined Steve's face but then he dropped the thought and looked around for his favorite pair of black leather shoes until he finally remembered that he had placed them right beside the nightstand the evening before.

Slipping into the shoes Danny cried out in pain when something sharp pricked his right big toe. These damned little shards seemed to be literally everywhere and Danny swore to himself that as much as he loved his daughter, he would make sure that she'd never again bring breakfast into his bedroom.

Danny had just slipped off the right shoe when a sudden and unexpected spell of dizziness hit him full force and he blindly reached for the nearby wall to keep his balance.

"What the hell…" he murmured but the sentence ended in a hoarse groan when a sharp wave of pain rolled through his right leg, all the way from his toe up to his hip.

His breath caught in his throat and before he knew what was happening Danny felt his whole body seize; his legs buckled and he couldn't prevent his crash to the floor. His right leg was on fire while the rest of his body was covered in clammy sweat, violently shivering beyond his control. Danny tried to swallow but his tongue seemed to be too thick for his mouth. His breath came in rapid, short gasps and with every breath of air his chest felt tighter and tighter as if there was not enough air to fill his lungs. His heart beat a mile a minute, painfully hammering against his ribcage in an erratic rhythm.

The edges of Danny's vision started to gray when he gathered his last strength and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket but the small device slipped from his trembling fingers and toppled out of his reach.

The pain from his leg had now expanded; his whole body felt as if it was on fire and suddenly Danny found it incredibly difficult to keep his eyes open. Blinking sluggishly, he exhaustedly dropped his head to the carpet, frowning slightly when he noticed another tiny piece of glass right in front of his face. The shard sparkled nicely in the early morning sun and the many different colors were the last thing Danny saw before his eyes closed and he slipped into a pain-filled darkness.

**(tbc)**

* * *

**Note: **There will be regular updates, probably once a week because real life is terribly busy at the moment and because I need a litte bit more time to finish this story. I'm currently working on chapter 6 so you don't have to worry about the next few updates... :-)


	2. Chapter 2

Wow! You are amazing!  
Thank you so much for all your nice reviews, for all the favorites and alerts... I really don't know what to say... THANK YOU!

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

Steve was annoyed for several reasons.

First of all he had to drive his own car. Well, he liked his Silverado, it was a good car that had served him well on many different occasions but he had to admit that the ride was nothing compared to Danny's sleek Camaro.

But the silver roadster was at the garage for its annual inspection… and maybe for a little repair that might be Steve's fault. McGarrett shifted in his seat and grimaced slightly, trying to forget the little incident the day before when he had followed a suspect maybe a little too enthusiastically. He really had tried to brake in time, but it hadn't been enough and the Camaro had ended up against a small wall, leaving its whole left side and the front bumper in need of some repair work.

Steve shoved the unpleasant memories of the accident and Danny's subsequent rant to the back of his mind, sighing quietly when he threw a glance at his watch. The second reason for his lingering annoyance was the fact that it was already 8:32 and he had been supposed to pick up his partner at exactly half past eight. Steve hated being late and usually he was punctual to the minute but this morning his driveway had been blocked by a large van that had delivered his neighbor's new furniture; he had needed almost fifteen minutes to convince the driver to move away. Needless to say that Steve's mood was not the best ever since.

Driving around the last corner, he approached the apartment complex where Danny was living and frowned angrily when his partner was nowhere to be seen. Despite his passion for sleeping late and despite the amount of time he spent in the bathroom, Danny was usually as punctual as Steve, a trait for which the Ex-SEAL was immensely grateful.

But today of all times Danny seemed to be late, on a day the Governor wanted to speak to the whole Five-0 team; he hadn't told them any details but the seriousness in his voice had made it perfectly clear that it wouldn't be mere small talk and being late for that kind of conversation was just not acceptable.

Pulling the Silverado into an empty parking spot, Steve waited about half a minute before he impatiently killed the engine and left the car. Heading for Danny's apartment with large, fast strides, he almost bumped into a middle-aged man in a blue jumpsuit, probably a plumber or an electrician by the looks of the large toolbox he was carrying in his right hand. Mumbling a quick apology Steve barely threw a second look at the man before he rushed on.

"Danny?" Steve asked loudly, repeatedly banging his left fist against the entrance door, at the same time ringing the doorbell to make clear that they were really short of time.

McGarrett pursed his lips and cocked his head a little bit to the right as he listened for an answer that never came. Frowning slightly he already pictured a thousand different scenarios but then he shook his head and scolded himself for his vivid imagination. Danny had probably just overslept or he was still in the bathroom, unable to hear Steve's knocking and shouting and ringing.

Trying the bell one last time, Steve pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Danny's number when he still got no answer from Danny's apartment. There was a short moment of silence and then the familiar sound of Danny's ring tone reached his ears, coming faintly through the closed door but other than that there was still no sound or movement.

The frown on Steve's forehead increased and after a moment of contemplation he took his set of keys and searched for the key to Danny's apartment. Danny had given him one of the spare keys directly after moving in, just in case anything ever happened to him and Steve needed to get access to his personal belongings.

Slowly opening the door, Steve stepped into the apartment, his right hand hovering over the butt of his weapon. He let his gaze travel over the living room, calling Danny's name once more as he threw a brief look into the deserted kitchen. The coffee machine was switched on and a strong, appetizing scent of coffee filled the air; a half-full cup and an opened newspaper indicated that Danny had been here this morning.

Steve felt an uneasy prickle at the back of his neck when he headed for the bedroom and briefly hesitated in front of the slightly opened door.

"Danny? Are you decent?" he asked loudly so that his words would also be heard in the bathroom, as he slowly pushed open the door. "I'm coming in."

The feeling of uneasiness immediately reached a new level when he saw Danny lying on the floor in front of the bed, unconscious or maybe even worse. Danny's face was deathly pale and even from his place a few feet away Steve was able to see the tinge of blue on the other man's lips. Steve needed only a split second to take in Danny's appearance but he found no blood or any other sign of an injury. Danny was fully clothed; the only thing that seemed a bit odd was the fact that he only wore one shoe while the other one was lying next to his prone body.

Steve was pretty sure that nobody else except himself and his partner was inside the apartment; however he quickly drew his weapon and silently moved toward the bathroom to make sure that no one was hiding there before he tended to his friend.

Crouching down Steve carefully turned Danny's body around, taking a deep breath when he pressed his finger's against Danny's neck in search for a pulse. Steve was sure that the following seconds were the longest in his life but after repositioning his fingers twice he was finally rewarded with a weak unsteady rhythm beneath his fingertips. Not losing any more precious time Steve swiftly pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called an ambulance while he once more eyeballed his unconscious partner. He could now see the slight up and down of Danny's chest but just as his heartbeat, his breathing was also much too fast and shallow.

"Danny?" Steve tried to rouse the other man, firmly shaking Danny's shoulder while a thousand different thoughts ran through his mind. There was no visible injury, no sign of any outside influence, so what was wrong with Danny? Heart attack? Stroke? Steve shook his head in denial, Danny was in good shape and much too young to suffer that kind of disease, right? "Danny? Can you hear me? Come on, Danny, open your eyes."

But whatever Steve tried, Danny stubbornly remained unconscious and if possible his condition even worsened over the next few minutes. Danny's face was deathly pale, cold sweat was covering his skin and now and then a weak seizure rattled his body.

There had been a few moments in Steve's life when he had felt completely and utterly helpless. Like when he had learned about his mother's death at the age of 16; and it didn't matter that she had suddenly shown up 20 years later pretty much alive because she had only faked her death. Or the terrible moment when he had been forced to witness his father's murder over a telephone line after speaking to him only seconds before. Or the time when his sister had been kidnapped by the Yakuza, calling him and frantically begging him to help her when she was lying in the trunk of a car, shackled and beaten.

All these times Steve had been feeling so vulnerable because his closest family had been affected and now – staring down at Danny's unconscious form – he felt exactly the same way. Danny was his best friend, he was part of his Ohana, of his family, and not being able to help him was one of the worst things Steve had ever experienced.

All he could do was sit by his partner's side and wait for help to arrive, ready to give CPR if it would come to the worst and make sure that Danny was as comfortable as possible.

Steve didn't know how much time had passed or how often he had checked Danny's pulse when he finally heard help arriving. He allowed himself a tiny sigh of relief, quickly stepping back to give the paramedics space to work.

The next few minutes were a blur of hectic activity, vital parameters were shouted and medical devices were attached to Danny's body and Steve took another step back, hesitantly leaning his back against the wall when he felt the slight tremor of his legs. He answered all of the paramedics' questions to the best of his knowledge but he wasn't really able to tell them what had happened.

Running a shaky hand over his hair and face, Steve watched almost detachedly how Danny was strapped onto a gurney and whisked outside only a short moment later. Blinking in surprise about the sudden quietness of the room he shook off his lethargy and pushed himself off the wall, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket to call in the rest of his team while he followed the paramedics to the waiting ambulance.

"I'm sorry, Sir, you can't come along," one of the paramedics said brusquely, vehemently hindering Steve from entering the vehicle, but his tone softened a little bit when he noticed the expression of deep concern on Steve's face. "I'm sure you understand that we need space to work," he added gently, holding Steve's gaze for a few seconds before he nodded once and started to shut the doors.

"Wait," Steve exclaimed hoarsely, grabbing one wing of the door at the last second before it was totally closed. "Where are you taking him?"

"Queens," the paramedic answered and Steve reluctantly removed his grip around the door and watched how the ambulance took off with screeching tires, siren wailing and blue light flashing.

And if the stern look on the paramedics' faces hadn't already told Steve how dire his partner's condition was, that hasty departure would surely have.

**(tbc)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Staring after the ambulance Steve unconsciously clenched and unclenched his fists and it took all of his willpower not to jump into his Silverado and race after his partner; all he wanted to do right now was follow that ambulance and be at Danny's side to provide as much support as possible.

Steve took a deep shuddering breath as he watched the vehicle disappear around the next corner and suddenly, like a switch that was turned, he was able to shove all his worry for his friend to the back of his mind and ice-cold determination filled his whole being. Deep inside he knew that Danny's current condition was not just the outbreak of a disease or a simple accident; he swore to himself that he would find out what exactly had happened and that he would find the person who was responsible for that.

Slowly turning around to head back for Danny's apartment, McGarrett tried to sort his swirling thoughts. There had been no sign of any visible injury, no trace of blood or bruising, so it was safe to assume that Danny had neither been shot, nor stabbed or beaten. The first thing that came to Steve's mind was some kind of poison, but how that might have been delivered? Gas? Poisoned water? Something he had drunk or eaten?

Breathing out a frustrated sigh, Steve was just about to search for his cell phone when he saw Chin's motorcycle coming down the street, closely followed by Kono's red compact car. Only a short moment later his two teammates were standing by his side, listening closely to Steve's meager explanations of what had happened to Danny.

"I'll call CSI," Chin offered after Steve had finished, throwing the Ex-SEAL a solemn look. "We'll make sure not to overlook the tiniest little detail. We'll find out what happened to Danny," he promised, waiting for Steve to nod his approval before he stepped back and pulled out his cell.

"And we already called the Governor and cancelled the meeting," Kono said, knowing that right now that appointment was the last thing on Steve's mind. Placing a slender hand on Steve's forearm she added quietly, "Denning wasn't too happy about that last-minute cancellation. Maybe you should call him later and explain what's going on, Boss."

"Yeah, okay," Steve answered absentmindedly, running a hand over his hair as he averted his eyes from Chin and looked down at the young woman. Seeing the distress in her dark eyes, he forced a small smile onto his lips and said with a soft sigh, "Thanks, Kono."

Waiting for Chin to end his call, Steve tried once more to gather his thoughts but the feeling that he needed to be at Danny's side was just getting stronger with every passing second and he had trouble concentrating on the task at hand.

"CSI is on its way," Chin reported curtly, looking expectantly at his boss for further instructions.

"Okay, good," Steve nodded his thanks. He briefly closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face before he said grimly, "I want you to check everyone who might have had access to the building and to Danny's apartment; janitor, craftsmen, pest controller, window cleaner, postman, everyone you can think of. The door to the apartment was locked; there was no sign of forced entry. So whatever had happened to Danny, he either didn't see his attacker as a threat or he was affected outside of his apartment. I also want you to check everything that might contain poison, the items in his fridge, toothpaste, shampoo… just everything, okay?"

"We're on it, boss," Kono answered solemnly, exchanging a quick look with her cousin before she once more placed her hand on Steve's arm and squeezed gently. "You go and look after Danny."

"Make sure he's alright," Chin added, briefly slapping his hand on Steve's shoulder. "We've got this covered."

"But…" Steve tried to object but he was immediately interrupted and almost forcefully shoved toward his car.

"Go," Chin said, his calm voice making the last bit of Steve's resistance crumble. "And make sure to call with updates on Danny's condition."

"Thanks, guys," Steve replied, grateful about his teammates' unlimited support. "And you call as soon as you find out something or if you need my help."

* * *

Steve arrived at the hospital more than twenty minutes later, impatiently pulling his truck into an empty parking spot. The streets had been terribly crowded and Steve's uneasiness had increased with every passing second during the painfully slow stop-and-go traffic. He had already got a call from Chin and Kono who had informed him that CSI had arrived and that they had taken the first samples of food and water.

Jumping out of the car, Steve hurried into the hospital building and after a second of contemplation he headed directly for the reception desk and asked for his partner.

"Daniel Williams?" the gray-haired receptionist repeated as she readjusted her glasses and squinted at the screen in front of her. "Ah, here it is," she finally said after almost a full minute of typing on her keyboard and scrolling through the lists in front of her, totally oblivious to Steve's increasing inability to control his impatience. "He was moved to the ICU a few minutes ago, but I'm afraid you can't…" she informed Steve but he never heard the rest of her sentence because he was already on his way toward the elevators.

Steve sighed unhappily when he entered the elevator and pressed the button to the fourth floor, noticing that he knew the way to the ICU without even asking. The Five-0 team had been here much too often for his liking, either to interrogate a victim or to visit one of their own just like now.

"Commander Steve McGarrett," Steve introduced himself to the first nurse who crossed his way. "I'm looking for my partner, Detective Danny Williams," he added in a tone that tolerated absolutely no dissent but the petite blonde woman only nodded her head toward the end of the corridor and rushed toward the elevators, tightly clutching three or four small tubes with blood samples and a few sheets of paper.

A shrill sound and a cacophony of voices from one of the rooms made McGarrett accelerate his steps and the worry for Danny suddenly spiked to a new level. Steve somehow knew for sure that a change in his friend's condition was the reason for the sudden noise and he didn't waste another second and followed another nurse into a small room that was crowded with medical staff and equipment. Furrowing his brow, Steve looked around and tried to understand what was going on and his gaze finally fell on his partner who was the center of all that attention, at least five doctors and nurses buzzing around his bed.

Danny's eyes were closed, his skin held an almost ashen tone, an oxygen mask covered most of his face and he was lying completely still. ECG electrodes were attached to his chest and Steve counted three different IV bags that delivered their contents to an IV port at the right side of Danny's neck.

Hesitantly stepping closer, Steve's gaze involuntarily traveled to the monitor next to Danny's bedside; he was no doctor but he had enough medical knowledge to notice that Danny's vital parameters were alarmingly poor and the ECG waves showed some unusual spikes and peaks.

"We need to wait for the new lab results," Steve heard one of the doctors say and he turned his head just in time to see a very short, middle-aged Asian man look up to a stunningly beautiful red-haired young woman. The doctor crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised his brows when he noticed the disgusted expression on the woman's face. "I'm not willing to endanger my patient's well-being for another of your phantasms, Dr. Carmichael. You are new here and you are still young so I'm willing to overlook your defiance; but for the future, I'd suggest you reconsider your behavior toward your superiors."

The Asian doctor stared expectantly at the young woman and after a few seconds she gritted her teeth and nodded reluctantly. Her pale blue eyes sparkled dangerously for another moment before she slightly raised her hands and replied with a genuine smile, "Yes, Dr. Sakagami. I'm sorry."

Holding the eye contact a little bit longer, Dr. Sakagami finally smiled back before he turned his attention back to the small monitor. Closely studying Danny's vital parameters he scribbled something into the chart in his hands before he repeated his instructions again, "We will wait for the lab results before we decide how to proceed with the treatment." He handed the chart back to one of the nurses and turned around to leave the room. "Call me as soon as the results are here or if there's any change in his condition," he added, hurrying out of the room without even taking notice of Steve.

"We don't need to wait for those second lab results," the red-haired doctor hissed angrily as soon as her superior had left the room. She snatched the chart out of the nurse's hands and impatiently skimmed through the pages until she found what she was looking for. "The first results were correct, I've seen something like that before," Dr. Carmichael whispered more to herself than to any of the other people in the room. "Why didn't that stupid old dwarf believe me?"

That last comment elicited an uneasy giggling from the present nurses and a very unhappy and almost angry frown from Steve. He didn't like it at all that the two doctors fought over the best treatment for his partner. Danny's well-being was the most important thing at the moment and Steve didn't have the feeling that the medical staff devoted their full attention to that task.

Steve just opened his mouth to voice his concerns when a tiny movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he swiftly turned his head to look down at his friend. Danny's fingers twitched on the bed sheet and his breathing seemed to get more laborious with every passing moment. The heart monitor started to wail with a high-pitched sound that sent an ice-cold shiver down Steve's spine.

"He's crashing," one of the nurses exclaimed unnecessarily while everything around Steve immediately erupted into hectic activity.

Steve was rudely shoved out of the way and he staggered back a step, watching wide-eyed how the people in the room tried their best to save his partner. Everything around him blended into a blur of voices and sounds and he didn't understand most of the medical terms that were shouted. He saw Dr. Carmichael give instructions and one of the nurses rushed outside only to come back a moment later with two different drugs that were immediately administered to Danny's bloodstream.

The activity seemed to come to a total standstill when everyone watched the ECG waves on the monitor, waiting for any change that indicated that the drugs had an effect on Danny's condition. Only Steve didn't look at the blinking numbers and lines, instead his eyes were glued to his partner's deathly pale face, willing him with all his might to hang on. He felt absolutely helpless about the current situation and a wave of dread and despair washed over him when he noticed the increasing concern radiating from the medical staff.

"He's not responding," one of the nurses said quietly after another look at the figures on the screen. She pressed a few buttons and instead of one ECG line six different lines showed the erratic beating of Danny's heart.

"Another ampule of calcium chloride," Dr. Carmichael urged tensely and a second later the nurse who had brought in the drugs placed a syringe in her outstretched hand.

"Come on, Danny, fight," Steve whispered tonelessly, clenching his fists so tightly that his fingernails left crescent-shaped marks on his palms as he watched the young doctor treating his partner. "Don't give up!"

Dr. Carmichael injected the medicine into the IV port at Danny's neck and took a small step back from the bed. She turned around and glanced at Steve, for the first time noticing that someone else was in the room. She raised her eyebrows in surprise and pursed her lips but instead of addressing the uninvited visitor she ignored him for the moment and instructed the nurse next to her, "Call the University of Hawaii's Department of Tropical Medicine. I need to speak to someone who knows about box jellyfish venom."

**(tbc)**


	4. Chapter 4

I had some really bad, stressful days at the office, so thanks a lot for all your wonderful reviews, they really made my day :-)

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

Box jellyfish venom?

Steve shook his head and stared at the young red-haired doctor, trying to find out if she was kidding or if she had lost her mind. How on earth would Danny have been able to come into contact with a jellyfish? He hated everything about the ocean and the only opportunity to run across a jellyfish would have been if such an animal had miraculously decided to live in Danny's bathtub.

Eyeing the young doctor closely, Steve was not sure if he could really trust her with his partner's treatment and he was just about to leave the room to look for her superior when said doctor was suddenly back at the scene, just as if he had read Steve's mind.

Dr. Sakagami narrowed his eyes when he took in Danny's vital parameters that still hadn't shown any improvement and he frowned angrily when he noticed the empty syringe in Dr. Carmichael's hand.

"What happened?" he wanted to know, throwing a brief, icy look at the young woman before he turned his attention back to his patient. He stepped closer to the bed and gently placed his fingers on Danny's right wrist, breathing out a worried sigh when he found the pulse still much too weak and unsteady.

"What's wrong with him?" Steve threw in, no longer able to keep the concern for his partner at bay.

Dr. Sakagami whirled around and if the situation had been less grave, Steve would certainly have had trouble swallowing down a smile about the flabbergasted expression on the doctor's face.

"Who are you?" the Asian doctor asked brusquely, waving his hands through the air in a way that reminded Steve so much of Danny that he had to pull himself together to hear Dr. Sakagami's next words. "Visitors are not allowed in here, you have to leave immediately."

"I'm Commander Steve McGarrett, Five-0," Steve introduced himself, briefly nodding towards Danny before he added hoarsely. "He's my partner and until we know for sure what happened to him, I won't leave this place." He interrupted himself and locked eyes with Dr. Sakagami, making sure that the other man understood what he was saying. "Consider me as his protection detail."

Looking up at Steve, Dr. Sakagami cocked his head a little bit to the right and after a short moment of contemplation he nodded sharply and said with another wave of his hands, "Alright. But stay back and give us space to work."

"What's wrong with him?" McGarrett firmly repeated his former question, now that his position at Danny's side had been settled. He turned around and faced Dr. Carmichael who never averted her gaze from the monitor next to Danny's head where the vital parameters hesitantly seemed to stabilize. "I heard you talking about jellyfish venom…" His voice trailed off and his gaze darted from one doctor to the other, impatiently waiting for an explanation about Danny's condition.

"Jellyfish venom?" Dr. Sakagami repeated, just as surprised as Steve had been when he'd heard it the first time and now both men stared at the red-haired doctor, urging her to explain her assumption.

"The blood test showed an unusual high level of potassium…" Dr. Carmichael began, only to be interrupted by Dr. Sakagami.

"These results were wrong," he said almost angrily. "That's why we took a second blood sample. The values have to be wrong; I've never seen such high levels of potassium before."

"But I have," Dr. Carmichael hissed back, anger and frustration sparkling in her pale blue eyes. She took a deep breath to pull herself together before she continued a little bit more calmly. "I've spent the last few years in Australia and I've seen a handful of victims of jellyfish stings. Box jellyfish venom especially causes severe hyperkalemia and the same symptoms Detective Williams is showing," she said with a nod toward Danny's bed and the monitor. "I tried to slow down the symptoms and it looks like the drugs are working; but what he really needs is an antivenom."

Her explanations were cut short when two nurses came rushing in the room, one of them bringing the results of the second blood test while the other one carried a cordless phone.

"I have Professor Helena Angelo from the Department of Tropical Medicine on the line," the nurse said as she handed Dr. Carmichael the small device.

"Thank you," the red-haired doctor answered, immediately pressing the phone to her ear. She nodded once at Steve and Dr. Sakagami before she left the room to speak undisturbed. "Professor Angelo? My name is Dr. Carmichael from Queen's Medical Center."

That was all Steve heard her saying on her way outside and he looked after her for another moment before he turned his attention back to Dr. Sakagami who intently studied the new lab report.

"It looks like Dr. Carmichael was right," he said slowly with a little shake of his head, his voice laced with surprise and disbelief. "We really might be dealing with a case of jellyfish poisoning."

There was a short pause when only the sounds of Danny's laborious breathing and the still slightly irregular beating of the heart monitor filled the silence before Steve asked hoarsely, "If he really was stung…" He interrupted himself and shook his head about the absurdity of that assumption. His gaze flickered to his partner and his brow furrowed in concern when he took in Danny's pale face and the unusual immobility of his hands. Steve cleared his throat and rephrased his question, "How long after the sting would the first symptoms appear?"

The Asian doctor filed the lab report in Danny's chart and after a quick glance at his patient and Danny's vital parameters he met Steve's questioning look. "Usually the symptoms start right after the sting, seconds, minutes at the longest," he replied with an unhappy little shrug of his shoulders. "But he was found at home, wasn't he?"

Steve nodded, but it was the doctor who asked the crucial question, "How on earth did he come in contact with the poison?"

* * *

"How on earth did Danny come in contact with jellyfish poison?" Kono repeated the doctor's question and Steve could clearly picture the astonished look on her face.

Agitatedly walking up and down the corridor in front of Danny's room, Steve pressed his cell phone to his ear while he ran his free hand repeatedly through his hair and over his face.

"Especially inside his apartment," Chin added calmly; Kono had put Steve's call on speaker so that the three of them could discuss the newest development.

"I have absolutely no idea," McGarrett sighed frustrated, turning around when he had reached the end of the corridor. He blatantly ignored the annoyed looks the nurses gave him when he passed them for the umpteenth time.

"Listen," he said, glancing into Danny's room on his way down the corridor. "We're not sure yet if it's really jellyfish poison – or any other poison at all – but the possibility is very high. So, I want you to keep the food and water and everything else on your list but make the search for the venom your top priority. If we're really dealing with jellyfish poison, it's a very fast acting poison, so look for everything Danny came in direct contact with."

"Understood," Chin answered curtly as soon as Steve had finished his instructions.

"We're on it, boss," Kono added equally short. Their terse answers told Steve that the cousins' thoughts were already turned toward their given task and he knew they would do everything in their power to find out what had caused Danny's current condition.

Steve quickly ended the call and stowed the cell phone away when he saw a short, corpulent woman with raven-black hair enter Danny's room. Furrowing his brow he quickened his steps and followed her, arriving at Danny's bedside just in time to hear her introduce herself to Dr. Sakagami and Dr. Carmichael.

"I'm looking for Dr. Carmichael," she said, hesitantly looking at the two people in front of her. "My name is Helena Angelo, I'm bringing the antivenom she was asking for." The woman slightly raised her right hand and presented a small green cooling box.

"I'm Dr. Carmichael," the red-haired doctor said, her eyes lit up when she looked at the box. "Thanks a lot for coming so fast, Professor Angelo."

"You said it was urgent," the smaller woman answered with a friendly smile, shrugging off Dr. Carmichaels thanks. Her gaze flickered toward Danny who was lying pale and motionless on the bed, his condition still the same as before. "You said on the phone that you assume jellyfish poisoning… I understood from your words that you're not sure about it? May I ask what happened to your patient? Wasn't he able to tell you if he was stung?"

"Unfortunately not," Dr. Sakagami threw in before Dr. Carmichael was able to answer the questions. "He was unresponsive when he was found in his apartment."

"In his apartment?" Professor Angelo repeated, surprise evident in her voice. "That's unusual," she confirmed, pursing her lips as she took a closer look at Danny's vital parameters. "Jellyfish venom is usually very fast acting. I suppose he lives near the beach?"

"Not really," Steve impatiently chimed in, unable to keep silent any longer when his partner's condition was being discussed. He had enough of all the whys and wherefores, he just wanted Danny to get the antivenom as soon as possible. "We assume he was poisoned," Steve explained bluntly, not willing to waste any more time when it came to Danny's treatment.

"He… what?" Professor Angelo stammered, staring blankly at Steve for a long moment before her eyes widened in absolute terror. She stumbled a step backwards and clapped her hand over her mouth, the cooling box dropping to the floor with a thundering sound.

The noise seemed to bring her out of her current state of mind and she quickly knelt down to open the box, sighing in relief when she found the vial with the antivenom still intact.

"I'll take that," Dr. Carmichael said with a meaningful look at Professor Angelo's slightly trembling fingers. She took the small vial and rushed out of the room to transfer the clear liquid into a syringe.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked, stretching out his hand and taking hold of her arm to help Helena Angelo stand up.

The woman nodded shakily but avoided any eye contact with Steve as she asked in a whisper, "Do you really think he was poisoned on purpose?"

Something in her voice made Steve's skin prickle and he narrowed his eyes, unconsciously tightening the grip around her upper arm. "Do you know anything about it?" he growled, trying to calm himself when he saw the woman flinch from him.

Steve immediately released his grip and noticed ashamed that Professor Angelo rubbed the spot on her arm where he had grabbed her. He took a few deep breaths, reminding himself that no one in this room was the cause of Danny's problems; they all just tried to help.

"Sorry," McGarrett mumbled, ignoring the slightly shocked expression on Dr. Sakagami's face who had silently watched the little interaction.

Briefly scrubbing his hands over his face, Steve threw another worried glance at his partner before he turned toward the short, dark-haired woman and said quietly, "We don't know for sure what happened, but we think he might have been poisoned on purpose. So please, Professor, if you know anything about it…" Steve's voice trailed off and he weakly raised his hands in a gesture that showed all the concern, fear and helplessness he was feeling at the moment.

The professor nodded slowly, then she licked her lips and cleared her throat twice before she explained hoarsely, "I don't know how much you know about my work… to keep it simple, I'm researching box jellyfish venom and especially the possibility to create an antivenom. It was only a few months ago that I was finally successful and I improved said antivenom ever since." She interrupted herself and briefly nodded toward the small green cooling box on the floor. Sighing heavily she raised her head and locked eyes with Steve as she continued earnestly, "Two weeks ago my laboratory was burgled and a small amount of jellyfish venom was stolen."

That last little sentence was all Steve needed to confirm his suspicions; now he was sure that Danny's collapse was no accident, someone had poisoned him. The only question that remained was if Danny was just a random victim or if he had been chosen intentionally.

Dr. Carmichael came back just as Steve wanted to ask more questions about the burglary, a small syringe and a new bag of saline solution in her hands. She had barely taken two steps into the room when the heart monitor over Danny's head flared to life with a wailing sound, causing all the present doctors and nurses to jump into action.

Once again Steve was pushed out of the way and all he could do was watch in horror how the ECG lines on the monitor became more and more erratic until Danny's body finally started to seize. The seizure seemed to last an eternity and just when Steve thought that that was the worst thing he'd ever witnessed in his whole life Danny took a rattling breath and then grew completely still.

**(tbc)**

* * *

Sorry, but you know me... I love cliffhangers ;-)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Steve raised his eyes and took a quick look at his watch before he sighed worriedly and let his head drop back in his hands.

It was exactly 23 minutes and 50 seconds since he had been unceremoniously thrown out of Danny's room and in all that time he'd only stirred once to send a quick text message to Chin and Kono. The rest of the time he had just sat there in a hectic hospital corridor near the ICU, elbows on his knees and face hidden in his hands, oblivious to the sympathetic looks the nurses gave him when they passed his temporary campground.

He had tried to think about the case – he still couldn't fully accept that Danny himself had become their newest case – but Steve's thoughts wandered back to his partner every few seconds until he finally admitted defeat. He had absolutely no idea about Danny's current condition but the longer he sat there without a word from the doctors the more his anxiety increased. Danny had looked really bad and Steve knew that the antivenom was a last desperate measure to save Danny's life. He had seen it in the doctor's faces even if nobody had dared to voice a prognosis so far.

Steve nearly jumped from his seat when his cell phone unexpectedly started to vibrate in his pocket. After a short glance at the caller's ID he answered the call with a hoarse, "Kono, what do you have?"

"We found it," Kono replied, her voice almost cracking with excitement. "We found out how the poison had been delivered."

"You did?" McGarrett asked, the worry for Danny briefly forgotten when he straightened in his seat. "How?"

"It was in his right shoe, a sneaky little mechanism, some sort of tiny plastic bag attached to a short needle that probably emptied itself when Danny slipped into his shoe."

Steve squeezed his eyes shut as he listened to Kono's explanations and recalled the moment he had opened the door to Danny's bedroom earlier that day. The image of his partner lying unconscious on the floor flashed through his mind, unbidden and cruel, but he also clearly remembered the small stab of surprise when he had noticed that Danny only wore one shoe. Danny must have immediately slipped off the other one as soon as he had felt the prick of the needle and that fast reaction had probably saved his life in the first place.

"The device is already on its way to the lab, I think Charlie Fong can't wait to get ahold of it," Chin chimed in, his statement already anticipating Steve's next instructions. "Maybe we're lucky and he'll be able to find some fingerprints."

"Okay, that's good," Steve replied, tiredly rubbing his eyes before he breathed out a weary sigh. "Thanks guys, that was good work."

There was a short moment of total silence and when Steve heard Kono taking a deep breath on the other end of the line he knew exactly what she was going to ask and he absolutely dreaded that question and the answer he had to give her.

"Any news on Danny, boss?" Kono's voice was unusually shaky and halting, a fact that only increased Steve's constant fear for their teammate.

"No, nothing yet," McGarrett said gloomily, wishing that he had better news for the two cousins. Slightly shaking his head he briefly closed his eyes and after another moment of silence he asked quietly, "Do we already have an idea who might have had access to Danny's apartment?"

"We tried to speak to Danny's landlord but he was not at home," Chin answered calmly. "His wife said he was just going to the local hardware store, she's expecting him home at any minute. Right now we're on our way down to his apartment to meet him."

"Afterwards we'll head back to the Palace to find out as much as possible about the names he'll hopefully give us and about the burglary in Professor Angelo's laboratory," Kono added and Steve knew for sure that they would dig so long and deep until they had found out who was behind the attempt on Danny's life.

* * *

It was another twenty minutes later when Steve finally saw Dr. Sakagami and Dr. Carmichael appear at the end of the corridor. They stood there for a moment, talking to each other with a serious expression before they parted. Dr. Sakagami nodded briefly in Steve's direction, but then he headed toward the elevators and disappeared around the next corner.

Steve had jumped to his feet as soon as Danny's two doctors had shown up and he was now watching with a pounding heart how Dr. Carmichael squared her shoulders before she approached him with large, confident strides.

The expression on her beautiful face was unreadable; Steve swallowed nervously and only barely suppressed the urge to wipe his hands on his pants.

"How is Danny?" he asked hoarsely as soon as the red-haired woman had come to a halt in front of him.

She looked at Steve with a strange mixture of hope and restraint as she said, "We were able to stabilize him but we're not sure if the antivenom is having the desired effect. Detective Williams' vital parameters are showing no real improvement so far but they are also not getting worse, so we're cautiously optimistic that we're on the right track."

McGarrett drew a shaky breath as he ran both hands over his face, trying to understand what she was saying; that was a rather grim prognosis and certainly not what he'd wanted to hear.

"Can I…" he started, clearing his throat when his voice threatened to crack. "Can I see him?"

"He's still unconscious," Dr. Carmichael replied reluctantly but she quickly gave in when she saw the pleading look in Steve's eyes. "Alright, but no longer than five minutes."

"Thank you," Steve said sincerely, following the young doctor back to Danny's room. He looked at her shiny, copper-colored hair when a sudden inspiration crossed his mind and he asked on the spur of the moment, "Why were you so sure that Danny had been exposed to jellyfish poison?"

There was a small, almost imperceptible hitch in her steps and when she turned around Steve thought he had seen a hint of surprise and alarm in her eyes but then the expression was quickly replaced by a genuine smile. "I think it was pure luck, or maybe female intuition," she explained matter-of-factly. "And as I said before: I've spent the last few years in Australia where I've seen quite a few victims of jellyfish attacks with the exact same symptoms."

Not giving Steve the chance to reply to her explanations she pointed toward Danny's room. "You have five minutes," the young doctor repeated her former statement before she nodded at Steve and turned around to talk to one of the nurses.

Steve narrowed his eyes when he stared after her but then he slightly shook his head and turned his attention to his partner. Quickly entering Danny's room he had to swallow when he took in Danny's appearance.

Most of Danny's ashen face was still covered by the oxygen mask that fogged in sync with his much too fast breathing and the beeping of the heart monitor was only slightly more regular than before. There were beads of sweat on Danny's forehead, his blond hair was clinging to his head and despite his unconsciousness his face showed an expression of discomfort and pain.

Slowly stepping closer, Steve clenched his fists and inhaled deeply before he released the air in a long tired breath, trying in vain to calm his frayed nerves. Then he carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and after a short moment of hesitation he took Danny's limp right hand in his own and squeezed gently.

"I… I really don't know what to say," Steve said after a few minutes of awkward silence, his voice barely more than a whisper. "You're usually the one who talks, Danny, and I'm the one who has to listen to your endless rants." He interrupted himself and smiled sadly before he heaved a deep sigh and tightened his fingers around Danny's hand. "Just hang on, Danny, okay?"

Danny's fingers twitched weakly in Steve's grip when a slight shiver ran through his body but otherwise there was no reaction from the unconscious man, no sign that he was aware of Steve's presence or that he'd heard his pleas.

McGarrett turned his head when a nurse appeared in the doorframe, nodding briefly at her sign that his time was up and that he had to leave the room. Staring down at his friend's pale face Steve suddenly added in a childish attempt to bring him back to health, "I promise to let you drive the Camaro for the next month, but please, Danny, hang on!"

Squeezing Danny's limp fingers once more, Steve gently placed the hand back on the sheets and with a last dejected look at his partner he grudgingly left the room.

As soon as he had stepped into the corridor he looked around, searching for Dr. Carmichael and Professor Angelo but neither of the two women seemed to be nearby and after speaking to one of the nurses, Steve had learned that the professor had probably gone back to the university while Dr. Carmichael was attending to her other patients and was currently not available.

Taking a deep breath Steve once more rubbed his tired eyes, trying to think about his next steps. He threw a quick glance at his watch, raising his eyebrows in surprise when he noticed the time; it wasn't even midday and yet he felt as if he had been awake for days on end.

"Commander McGarrett?"

Steve whirled around when he heard his name, his right hand reflexively moving to his weapon before he realized who had called out for him. He blushed slightly and quickly dropped his hand when he found himself face to face with two police officers, remembering just in time that he had ordered Kono to arrange a 24/7 police protection for Danny. They still didn't know if the attempt on Danny's life was more than a very unhappy coincidence but Steve was not willing to leave his partner unattended even for a single second.

After explaining the situation to the two policemen Steve slowly headed toward the exit, not really comfortable about the fact that he left his partner behind but also knowing that he was of more help at the Palace than at Danny's bedside.

Using the short walk to the parking lot to call the Governor and inform him personally about Five-0's current case and the reason why the team hadn't made it to the meeting this morning, Steve felt relieved when he finally had fulfilled that obligation; now he would be able to fully concentrate on finding out who was behind that perfidious assault on Danny's life.

Stepping into the Five-0 headquarter a little while later, Steve wasn't surprised to find Chin and Kono hunched over the big smart table in the middle of the room, both of them looking up from their work when they heard him come in.

"How's Danny?" the cousins asked in unison, staring hopefully at Steve who just shook his head and sighed deeply.

"Still no change," he answered bleakly as he rubbed his left hand over his face. Keeping silent for a moment he finally sighed again and pointed at the smart table in front of him, "What do we have so far?"

"Unfortunately not very much," Chin immediately started to explain their findings, letting his fingers dance over the display to activate a few files and with a short flick of his wrist he transferred them to the screens on the wall. "We talked to Danny's landlord; there are not many people who actually have access to the individual apartments," he said, briefly looking at the pictures and notes on the screen before he turned toward Steve. "First of all there's the landlord himself and his wife. We did a complete background check on them but so far we found nothing unusual, no criminal records, nothing that indicates that they would be capable of poisoning one of their tenants."

"Danny always speaks very highly of them," Steve nodded slowly, staring at the two pictures at the left. "They seem to be good people."

"It seems so," Chin confirmed calmly. He kept silent for a moment to gather his thoughts before he continued, "Apart from the landlord there's usually no one who has access to the apartments. Sure, we have our usual suspects; the postman comes every day, there are visitors, friends and relatives of all the other tenants, a window cleaning company is charged twice a year, scheduled again for next month…"

Chin exchanged a quick look with his cousin to see if he had forgotten to mention anything but Kono slightly shook her head and motioned him to go on. Turning back toward Steve, Chin said with a little shrug of his shoulders, "But since there were no signs of forced entry it's very unlikely that one of them had managed to get into Danny's apartment unnoticed."

"We think our suspect must be someone who was allowed into the apartment willingly, like the pizza delivery boy or some kind of handyman," Kono took over when Chin fell quiet once more. "The landlord told us that…"

"The guy in the blue jumpsuit," McGarrett exclaimed suddenly, excitedly interrupting Kono's report.

Two pairs of eyes turned toward Steve who agitatedly looked around without really seeing anything, trying to remember his encounter with the man on the stairs to Danny's apartment earlier that day.

"Steve?" Chin asked after a short while when his boss only stared unhappily into empty space, the only movement a slight shake of his head now and then. "What's wrong?"

Finally pulling himself out of his state of shock, Steve ran his hand over his mouth and chin, his gaze darting between the cousins. "I think I've seen him," he whispered hoarsely, briefly closing his eyes to calm the turmoil in his head, deeply annoyed that he had totally forgotten about that man. He kept his eyes closed for a few seconds, fully aware of the fact that Kono and Chin stared at him as if he had lost his mind, but he just needed a moment to sort his thoughts.

"This morning when I arrived at Danny's apartment to pick him up," Steve finally explained slowly, making sure that he told his teammates every little detail he remembered, "I almost ran into a man in a blue jumpsuit. I just got a short look at him, but I'm sure that he carried a large toolbox, so he was probably an electrician or maybe a plumber."

Steve frowned when he noticed that Chin and Kono once again exchanged a quick look but before he could voice a question, Kono continued her former explanations. "What I was just about to say was that the landlord told us that there are electrician appointments scheduled for all apartments on Danny's floor and on the floor above for the rest of the week, starting tomorrow."

"That's got to be it, right?" Steve blurted out, restlessly staring at the young woman as he tried to piece together all the information of the last few minutes. "I'm sure that guy was in Danny's apartment, I'm sure he was the one who placed the poison…"

Seeing the unhappy expression on Kono's face when she rechecked her notes, Steve interrupted himself in mid-sentence and asked warily, "What? What's up, Kono?"

"Did you hear what she said?" Chin answered cautiously, trying not to fuel the agitated atmosphere even more but he wasn't able to completely hide his own excitement when he continued with raised eyebrows. "The electrician appointments will start tomorrow, that means whoever that man was you saw, he most likely wasn't there to do some repair work. I think your suspicion about him might be right, he really might be the man we're looking for."

There was a moment of stunned silence, only disturbed by the low humming noise of the computers in the room, while the three teammates stared at each other until Steve finally declared determinedly, "We have to find that man at all costs. Let's go to work, guys."

**(tbc)**


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews and for all the favorites and alerts. I'm very sorry that I didn't find the time to answer every of reviews personally but please know that I really appreciate your words - your comments make my day :-) Thank you!

I hope you enjoy the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

"Is that all you can remember?" Chin asked quietly, raising his eyebrows as he looked at the meager information on the screen.

"That's really not much, boss," Kono added tentatively, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear; she tried not to sound too disappointed when Steve nodded half-angrily, half- apologetically.

"I know," he huffed out, slapping his hand on the smart table before he turned around and agitatedly paced the office. Running his hand through his hair he briefly closed his eyes, willing his memory to play along and provide him with further information about the man he had met on the stairs to Danny's apartment. "I just didn't take notice of him," Steve said in exasperation when he returned to his two teammates. "All I can remember is that he was white, about my size, probably in his early fifties," Steve listed once more the facts that were already displayed on the screen. "His hair was blond, or maybe gray, most of it was covered by a blue baseball cap. He was dressed in an equally blue jumpsuit and he carried a large toolbox."

"Alright Steve, calm down," Chin tried to soothe the younger man. "We will find him, okay? It may take a little bit longer, but we'll find him."

"Since we've found no fingerprints in Danny's apartment, I suggest we start here," Kono chimed in, drawing Steve's attention to a homepage she had just activated. "Let's assume the man you saw is working for a real company and not just using the jumpsuit and the toolbox as disguise…"

"That's a long shot, but I guess we have to start somewhere," Steve interrupted her grumpily but the youngest team member just shot him a slightly irritated look and chose to ignore his objection.

"This is the company Danny's landlord hired," Kono explained, her gaze hopefully darting between Steve and the pictures on the screen. "Does that look familiar?"

McGarrett took a deep breath before he narrowed his eyes and inspected the red ornate logo and the few pictures of people in red jumpsuits. "No," he firmly shook his head after a few seconds. "That's definitely the wrong color…" His voice trailed off when he leaned forward, cocking his head a little bit to the right as he took a closer look at the company logo.

"Steve?" Chin asked cautiously after a long moment as his boss stared silently at the screen without even blinking. "Come on, you have to talk to us. Do you remember anything else? Maybe a logo or some kind of lettering?"

"I think there was a logo," Steve nodded pensively, licking his lips as he closed his eyes to call back the short meeting to his mind. "I just saw half of it… a few crossed white lines… maybe a letter… a K, or maybe an X…"

He fell silent and after another few seconds he opened his eyes and dejectedly shrugged his shoulders. "That's all," Steve murmured with a shake of his head. "Sorry."

"But that's something we can work with," Kono replied with newly found energy, her fingers already dancing over the huge touchscreen display. A long list of company names filled the screen and the sheer amount of data elicited an unhappy sigh from McGarrett but before he could voice his concerns Kono had already opened the first item on the list. "We'll start with A and go all the way down to Z," she said firmly and the tone of her voice held no doubt that she was determined to find the man they were looking for, even if it would take hours or days.

Two and a half hours later Kono's determination was still strong despite the fact that she leaned tiredly against the computer table and had just finished her fourth cup of coffee while Steve sighed every few seconds in anger and frustration.

"How many of these damned companies are there in Honolulu?" he asked exhaustedly when the list of names didn't seem to grow shorter at all.

"297," Chin replied absent-mindedly without looking up from the computer table before Kono was able to answer Steve's question. His voice trailed off and he leaned forward to take a closer look at the file in front of him. "I think I have something," he said, tapping rapidly on the display of the smart table. "K&K Electrical Service," Chin explained clipped, pointing at the screens on the wall that were now showing a picture of two men in blue jumpsuits. "The company is run by Keith Thompson and his son Keith Jr. and this…" he wiped his fingers over the display and moments later two big white K's, artfully interwoven, filled the whole screen, "… is their logo."

Turning toward Steve, Chin threw an expectant look at his boss who just stood there for a minute and stared at the logo.

"That's it," Steve finally confirmed hesitantly, taking a deep breath as he slowly nodded his head. "Yes, I'm pretty sure that's it," he repeated a little bit more determined after he had closely studied the white letters on the screen.

"Okay, good," Kono said excitedly, taking over from her cousin as she searched for the information to contact K&K Electrical Service. "The company is located at Lanihuli Drive, which is here…" she said, pointing at the city plan of Honolulu she had just brought up on one of the screens. "Not far from the University," she added in surprise after she had taken a closer look at the map.

"So we could kill two birds with one stone and head first for K&K Electrical Service to check out if our suspect is working there," Chin voiced Kono's thoughts, sending her a small, approving smile before he continued. "And then we visit Professor Angelo to learn more about the burglary in her laboratory."

* * *

"Keith Thompson?" Steve asked impatiently as soon as he, Chin and Kono had entered the small workshop at Lanihuli Drive. He hadn't heard from the hospital yet and even if he knew that no news were not necessarily bad news, he was deeply worried for his partner and strived to be back at Danny's side as soon as possible.

"Yes?" a beefy young man in a blue jumpsuit replied, his gaze flickering unsure between the three people in front of him. His dark blue eyes widened in surprise when he noticed the badges and weapons and he swallowed visibly before he remembered his good manners and asked politely, "How can I help you?"

"I'm Steve McGarrett, this is Officer Kalakaua and Lieutenant Kelly; we're with Five-0," Steve introduced shortly, his piercing glance never leaving the other man who started to fidget nervously. "We're looking for one of your employees."

"Okay?" Keith Thompson answered hesitantly, briefly turning around toward the open door behind him. "Dad?" he shouted over his shoulder, leaning a little bit to the left to throw a look into the back room. "Could you come here for a second?"

"I'm on my way," a voice replied in a cheerful sing-song and moments later a man that looked more like Keith's older brother than like his father appeared in the doorframe. "What is it, Shorty?"

"Dad," the younger man replied in an annoyed whisper, blushing slightly as he stole a quick glance at the three visitors before he turned toward his father. "Don't call me that." He sighed quietly when he noticed the smirk on his father's face, then he cleared his throat and explained at normal volume, "These people are with Five-0, they have questions about one of our employees."

"About one of our employees?" the older Thompson repeated, raising his eyebrows as he turned toward Steve. The smile quickly left his face when he noticed Steve's grim expression and his no-nonsense attitude. "How can we help you?" he repeated the question his son had already asked a few moments ago.

"We are looking for a man who was dressed in one of your company jumpsuits this morning," Steve explained, pointing at the outfit both men were wearing. "We have just a rough description of him, but we think he might work for you."

"What did he look like?" Keith Thompson senior asked as his son took a small step backwards, obviously glad about the fact that his father had taken over the conversation.

Listening closely to Steve's description of the man he had met on the stairs to Danny's apartment, Keith finally nodded slowly. "That sounds like Tim," he said, exchanging a quick look with his son. "Timothy Dorosz, one of our electricians," he clarified his statement. "He didn't show up for work this morning."

"Why not?" Kono wanted to know, stepping forward so she was standing side by side with her boss.

"I don't know," Keith Thompson answered with a little sigh, nervously scratching the stubble on his chin when three pairs of eyes were directed at him. "He didn't call."

"And you didn't find that strange?" Steve questioned suspiciously, staring cold-eyed at the smaller man. He wasn't sure yet if Mr. Thompson had something to hide or if he was honestly answering their questions. "Didn't you try to contact him?"

Keith Thompson fell silent for a moment, obviously trying to gather his thoughts, and just when Steve's impatience became overwhelming, the electrician sighed heavily and began to explain. "Tim has been working for me for almost 20 years; in fact he was my first employee when I started my own business and he stayed with me the whole time. He was always reliable and he is a damn good electrician." Keith interrupted himself and once more scratched his chin as he turned his head to look at his son.

"It all started when Tim's wife died about two years ago in a car accident," Keith junior took over from his father. "He had to care for his young daughter and they just settled down after their loss when Laura got ill." He looked away with tears in his eyes, blinking rapidly as he cleared his throat. "The little girl was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia and after trying every available therapy the doctors told Tim a few weeks ago that there's nothing more they can do for her."

"Tim is not the same anymore since that day," the older Keith chimed in, heaving another deep sigh. "He tries to spend as much time as possible with his daughter and since we don't have a lot of work at the moment we give him the space he needs. In fact we're just calling him in when the workload gets too much for us to handle." Keith cleared his throat and added in a low whisper, "We just don't want to cut short the little time he has with his girl."

There was a moment of gloomy silence, the sad story of the little girl and her father heavily hovering in the room, until Steve finally remembered why they were looking for Timothy Dorosz in the first place. "Can you give us Tim's address?" he asked brusquely, his impatience and anger coming back with a vengeance when he thought about Danny's current condition.

"Sure," Keith agreed, giving the Five-0 team an address not far away from the workshop. He briefly hesitated before he said with quiet conviction, "Tim is a good man. Whatever you think he did, I'm sure he's innocent."

"We'll see," Steve answered, nodding once at father and son before he turned around and left it to Chin and Kono to thank the two men for their cooperation.

* * *

"It looks like Thompson has told the truth," Kono said, looking up from the tablet PC in her lap. "I just checked Tim Dorosz' file, he really seems to be a loving single father who cares a lot for his daughter."

Steve silently threw her a brief glance over the rear mirror before he turned his attention back to the traffic; with the Camaro in the garage for repair work the three Five-0 members easily fit into Steve's large Silverado. Feeling the concerned eyes of his teammates resting on him, Steve tried to relax a little bit but he wasn't able to shake off the feeling of uneasiness that was building up inside him. On the one hand he wanted nothing more than to go back to the hospital to be at Danny's side but on the other hand he had the strong feeling that Tim Dorosz was the answer to all their questions and he couldn't wait to personally face the man.

"He lives near the University," Chin remarked calmly when they arrived at the address Keith Thompson had given them. "That might be coincidence but if Dorosz was the one who stole the jellyfish poison…" His voice trailed off and he let the rest of the sentence hover in the air.

"What do we know about the burglary so far?" Steve asked when he switched off the engine and took a look at the small blue painted house where Tim Dorosz was living with his daughter. It looked nice and cozy with the small, neat garden where a pink swing dangled from one of the trees, even if the perfect idyll was disturbed by the 'For Sale' sign next to the entry door.

"Not very much," Chin answered with a little shake of his head. "The janitor noticed the broken door to the lab but since Professor Angelo was participating in a conference on the mainland he wasn't able to tell if anything had been stolen. And when she came back a week later all possible traces had been removed."

"So, we have literally nothing," Steve stated in exasperation, flashing Chin a frustrated look.

"We will talk to the janitor later," Chin replied calmly, completely ignoring Steve's increasing bad mood. "Maybe he can remember something he didn't tell the police the first time."

"But first let's just check if Tim Dorosz is really the guy you saw this morning, boss," Kono chimed in, opening the door and hopping out of the car.

Together they walked toward the front door and Chin pressed the doorbell below a multicolored, hand-made nameplate that read 'Laura's and Tim's kingdom'. The sound shrilled through the house but no movement inside indicated that Timothy Dorosz or his daughter were at home. Chin raised his eyebrows and pressed the button again and finally a third and a fourth time.

Steve's uneasiness increased with every second they had to wait and much too clearly he remembered the similar situation earlier that day when he had stood in front of Danny's apartment door, waiting for his partner to respond.

"We're going in," McGarrett finally said hoarsely, jerking his head slightly to the left as he instructed Chin to take the backdoor. Waiting a few seconds until the older man had disappeared around the corner of the house Steve took a deep breath and nodded toward Kono who immediately reacted and tried the doorknob. Slightly shaking her head when she found the door locked, she drew her weapon and retreated a little bit to the side of the door to give Steve enough space.

"Timothy Dorosz? This is Five-0; we're coming in," Steve loudly announced their next actions, his weapon at the ready. Waiting another short moment for any kind of reaction he stepped back and kicked in the door at the same time as Chin entered the small house through the obviously unlocked backdoor.

Communicating soundlessly the three members of Five-0 moved through the small house, quickly and efficiently checking every single room.

"Clear," Steve shouted after only a few seconds, stowing away his weapon when he heard Chin's and Kono's identical answers.

Looking around in the small living room, Steve noticed the many pictures on the walls, showing the same blonde girl in different stages of life, some of them together with a dark haired woman who was probably her mother. Narrowing his eyes, Steve stepped closer to the wall and studied one special picture that showed the girl and her mother next to a tall blond man – the very same man Steve had met in Danny's apartment complex.

Steve puffed out a stressed little sigh as he ran his hand over his mouth; so Timothy Dorosz really was the man they were looking for.

"Steve, over here," Kono's voice suddenly cut through the silence of the empty house and something about her tone sent a shiver of foreboding down Steve's spine.

"Kono? What is it?" he asked tensely when he joined the cousins in front of a pink painted door, probably the little girl's room by the look of it.

"We found Dorosz and his daughter," Chin explained hoarsely, taking a deep breath before he pushed open the door and revealed one of the most disturbing crime scenes Steve had ever seen.

Tim Dorosz was without doubt dead, the fingers of his right hand still limply curled around the butt of the gun he had killed himself with.

The little blonde girl Steve had seen in the photos in the living room was lying next to her father on the bed in the middle of the room. She looked peaceful, like she was just sleeping, but when Steve glanced questioningly at Chin, the older man sadly shook his head and swallowed heavily.

The room looked like a bizarre and horrid version of a slaughterhouse, the pink and yellow wallpaper behind the bed was covered with blood splatters and the originally light pink bed sheets were shining wet and dark with red blood that wasn't fully dried yet.

"I think there's a letter, maybe a suicide note?" Kono whispered softly after a long time of gloomy silence, pointing at a sheet of neatly folded paper that had been placed on the blood-soaked pillow between the two blond heads.

Slipping on a pair of black disposable gloves Kono stepped closer to the bed and hesitantly picked up the small letter. The paper had once been pink, like almost everything else in the little girl's room, but now it was crimson red and when Kono very carefully unfolded the letter, heavy drops of blood dripped from the paper and onto the carpet.

"It is a suicide note," she confirmed her own assumption, clearing her throat before she started to read out in a halting voice. "_My little girl is gone. Oh God, she is gone and I wasn't there for her. I left her alone for two hours and when I came back she was gone. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I lost everything, first my wife and now my little Laura. She was my one and only, my little princess, my world, and I left her alone. And to make everything a thousand times worse I did something terrible, I put the life of an innocent man in danger. I don't even know who he was. He seemed to be a nice guy and I sacrificed his life without hesitation. I can't live with that guilt. But I did it for my little girl; I did it to save her. I did it in exchange for her treatment, the treatment I would never have been able…"_

Kono suddenly stopped reading and looked up from the blood-soaked sheet of paper in her hands, her gaze flickering between Steve and Chin who gave her the same expectant look, impatiently waiting for her go on. "That's all I can read," she said, furrowing her brow when she tried to make out the rest of the letter. Shaking her head she breathed out a frustrated sigh, "Everything else is covered in blood and completely unreadable."

"I'm sure Fong can find a way to make it legible," Chin said, producing a small transparent plastic bag out of his pocket and handed it to his cousin to stow away the letter. "At least we know that Tim Dorosz was the one who placed the poison in Danny's shoe; I think his final words leave little doubt that he is responsible for that." Turning his head he locked eyes with Steve and asked slowly, "He was the man you saw this morning, right?"

Briefly closing his eyes, Steve nodded once to answer Chin's question. "Yes, I'm absolutely sure," he replied, throwing another look at the two bodies on the bed as he ran his hand across his face. "But we still don't know why he did it," McGarrett said, frustration and bewilderment evident in his voice. "It sounds like he was paid for what he did…"

He interrupted himself when his cell phone started to ring, swiftly pulling the small device out of his pocket. A surge of adrenaline ran through Steve's body, causing his heart to hammer wildly against his ribcage when he noticed the caller's ID.

"It's the hospital," Steve said hoarsely, staring wide-eyed at his friends before he took a deep breath and answered the call.

**(tbc)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Steve felt bad for leaving Chin and Kono alone at the crime scene but they had urged him – again – to go, obviously knowing that he desperately needed to be at Danny's side. He was aware that the cousins were fully capable of handling everything necessary without him but nevertheless it felt like he let them down.

After racing to the hospital in next to no time and probably breaking every single traffic regulation that existed, Steve parked the Silverado at almost the same spot as earlier that morning and jogged into the building. Not bothering to wait for the elevator he pushed open the door to the staircase and hurried upwards, taking two or three steps at a time.

Arriving at the fourth floor slightly out of breath he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw not only the two police officers standing in front of Danny's room but also a small group of medics, talking excitedly at the same time. Furrowing his brow Steve stepped closer and immediately spotted Dr. Carmichael among the crowd of doctors; the young red haired woman was smiling proudly, obviously enjoying all the attention her colleagues were giving her.

"Dr. Carmichael?" Steve called out loud enough to make all the cheering and chattering fade away. The young doctor smiled again at her colleagues before she stepped away from the group of people and faced Steve.

"How is Danny?" McGarrett asked before Dr. Carmichael could say anything, nervously waiting for her to confirm what she'd already told him over the phone.

"The antivenom is finally working," Dr. Carmichael replied happily, her smile growing even bigger when two or three of the doctors behind her started to murmur approvingly. "Detective Williams' vital parameters have stabilized and we expect him to wake up at any minute." She tucked a lock of red hair behind her ear and her pale blue eyes were sparkling with pride and complacency when she said, "We are positive that he will make a full recovery."

Rubbing both hands over his face, Steve needed a moment to fully grasp the meaning of her words and only very slowly he felt like a huge part of the pent-up tension finally fled his body. Puffing out a long tired breath, a tentative smile crept across his face as he asked softly, "Can I see him?"

"Sure," Dr. Carmichael answered cheerfully, motioning toward Danny's room. "As I said, he's still unconscious but we're expecting him to wake up at any moment. Just keep in mind that he's still weak and needs as much rest as possible."

"I will. Thank you, doc," Steve answered, gazing briefly at the small crowd of doctors that slowly dispersed, not without some more appreciative remarks for Dr. Carmichael and her persistence about the right treatment for Danny.

Turning around Steve nodded a short greeting at the guards in front of the door and silently entered Danny's room, breathing out another sigh as he stared down at his partner. Danny was still pale but he looked much more comfortable than before; the oxygen mask had been replaced by a nasal cannula and the ECG waves on the monitor next to Danny's head showed a steady, yet still a little bit too fast, heartbeat.

"It's good to have you back, Danno," Steve whispered with a relieved little smile, looking at his friend for another long moment before he grabbed a chair and settled himself at Danny's bedside.

* * *

The first signs that Danny was finally coming round were a slight change in his breathing pattern and the restless twitching of his fingers on the white bed sheets.

Jumping to his feet Steve stepped closer to the bed, furrowing his brow in sympathy when he watched Danny's struggle to wake up. Hesitantly placing his hand on Danny's left shoulder he hoped that the physical contact made it easier for his partner to resurface from the darkness.

"Danny, can you hear me?" Steve asked quietly, gently tightening his grip around Danny's shoulder. "Come on, it's time to wake up," he added a little bit more impatiently, watching every little movement of Danny's body.

A few more, agonizingly long minutes passed without anything happening but then Danny finally took a deep shuddering breath and slowly blinked his eyes open. Licking his dry lips, he swallowed against the raspy feeling in his throat as his gaze flickered unsteadily through the room.

"Hey Danny, good to see you, man," Steve said happily grinning, the smile on his face getting even bigger when Danny finally managed to return his look. "How are you feeling?" McGarrett asked, once more gently squeezing Danny's shoulder.

Seeming to consider the question for a long moment, Danny took another deep breath and weakly raised his right hand without voicing an answer.

The grin on Steve's face slowly morphed into a concerned frown when he saw the small movement and he quickly let go of Danny's shoulder and took hold of his hand. "Hey, you alright? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, trying to read the expression on Danny's pale face as he tightened his fingers around Danny's hand.

Swallowing again Danny weakly squeezed back before he impatiently wiggled his fingers out of Steve's grip. He stretched out his hand; palm turned upward, and rasped quietly, "Keys."

"What?" Steve asked, surprise and confusion radiating from every fiber of his body as he tried to grasp the meaning of Danny's first word. "What?" he repeated, watching as Danny briefly closed his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Keys, Steven," Danny whispered hoarsely, waggling his fingers to emphasize his demand. "I want my car keys. You promised to let me drive for a month."

"You heard that?" Steve asked flabbergasted, staring wide-eyed at his partner who nodded much too smugly for a man who had regained consciousness just a few moments ago.

"I did," Danny replied, his voice getting stronger with every passing moment. Trying to get a little bit more comfortable he grimaced when he shifted his weight and pain flared through his right leg. "And I intend to hold you to that promise."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Steve remained silent for a moment, obviously not knowing how to react to Danny's statement. "You just woke up and the first thing you do is demand to drive the Camaro?"

"I learned from the best," Danny chuckled softly when he saw the expression on Steve's face, but then the laughter changed into a weak coughing fit that made Danny squeeze his eyes shut and press his hand to his chest.

"Hey, you alright?" Steve asked immediately; worry dripping heavily from his voice as he placed his hand on Danny's arm. "Do you want me to call the nurse?"

Slightly shaking his head Danny tried to breathe slowly and deeply and after a few moments he rubbed his hand over his face and opened his eyes. "I'm okay," he said hoarsely, throwing Steve a reassuring look. "Really, I'm okay. No need to show me your aneurysm face, babe."

Danny took another deep breath and cautiously stretched his body, trying to ignore the burning sensation in his right foot and leg. Looking at his arms he raised his eyebrows in surprise and murmured happily, "No IV? What a pleasant surprise."

"Uhm," Steve replied, pointing at the right side of Danny's neck. "I hate to disagree with you but…" His voice trailed off and he grimaced in sympathy when his partner glared at him and slowly raised his hand.

"Yuck," Danny commented unusually ineloquent as he hesitantly touched the IV port. Sighing quietly he dropped his hand back to the sheets and locked eyes with Steve. "So, what happened anyway?" he wanted to know, weakly waving his hands through the air. "Why am I here?"

"What do you remember?" Steve returned the question, tiredly sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Pensively sucking his lower lip Danny slightly shrugged his shoulders. "I remember waking up and getting dressed for our meeting with the Governor this morning…" He interrupted himself and threw his friend an alarmed look. "It was this morning, right?"

"Yes, it was," Steve confirmed soothingly, motioning Danny to go on. "Anything else?"

Furrowing his brow in concentration Danny sighed again before he explained slowly, "I'm not sure but I think there might have been something in my shoe. I felt a prick and at first I thought it was one of those shards from Grace's little breakfast mishap but then my whole leg felt like it was on fire and the next thing I know is waking up here. Judging from the way my leg is still hurting I guess it wasn't just a normal shard?" He looked expectantly at Steve who just nodded silently, causing Danny to sigh heavily. "Just my luck," he murmured with a roll of his eyes. "And then today, of all times. I'm sure that even your pedantic, nitpicky, little SEAL soul would have been pleased because I was perfectly on time for our meeting with the Governor. Or well, at least until that damn electrician showed up and messed up my schedule. I really need to speak with my landlord because…"

Danny interrupted himself and narrowed his eyes when he watched the subtle change in Steve's posture, the almost imperceptible tension of muscles and the slight frown that appeared on Steve's forehead.

"Steven, what's the matter?" he asked slowly, and then it suddenly dawned on him. "It was the electrician, right?" Danny added, proving that he was indeed a damn good detective. "What did he do?"

Shifting his weight in an attempt to sit up, Danny unsuccessfully tried to suppress a moan, unconsciously rubbing his right thigh to get rid of the dull pain. He nodded a silent thank you when Steve jumped to his feet and helped him to adjust the bed. "Thanks," he whispered hoarsely, clearing his throat when he felt a new coughing fit build up in his chest.

"Hey, you alright?" Steve asked worriedly when he saw the small beads of sweat on Danny's forehead. "Dr. Carmichael said you need as much rest as possible."

"And what do you think I'm doing here?" Danny replied tiredly with only a fraction of his usual wittiness as he pointed first at the bed and then at himself. "Bed, me, lying – ergo I'm resting," he declared smugly, smiling softly when he saw the concern on Steve's face. "Stop worrying. I promise to go back to sleep as soon as you finally tell me what happened." He raised his right hand and put three fingers up in the air, swearing solemnly, "Scout's honor."

"Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought you got kicked out of boy scouts," Steve remarked, raising his eyebrows as he sat back on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, who cares," Danny shrugged off Steve's comment with a small grin. "Now would you please tell me what happened, Steven?"

"You got poisoned," McGarrett answered curtly, taking a deep breath to calm his agitated mind. It had been much too close, Danny had almost died and that was something he just didn't want to think about. Clearing his throat he locked eyes with his partner and started to explain what the three remaining Five-0 members had found out so far, "We found the electrician who was in your apartment this morning and we're pretty sure that he was the one who placed poison in one of your shoes. His name's Timothy Dorosz; ever heard of him?"

"Don't think so," Danny replied after short consideration, slightly shaking his head. "Should I?"

"No, probably not," Steve sighed, rubbing both hands over his tired eyes. "We think he was paid to do it."

"But you don't know who paid him, right?" Danny asked, briefly looking at the two police officers who kept watch in front of his hospital room. "Didn't he tell you anything?"

"He couldn't," Steve answered, suppressing another sigh when he thought back to the two bodies they had found earlier. "He was dead when we found him. He'd killed himself."

"Suicide? You sure about that?"

"Max is examining the body as we speak," Steve replied, slightly nodding his head. "But we're pretty sure. There were no signs of forced entry or of external influence; and we found a suicide note." The memory of the blood-soaked piece of paper flashed through Steve's mind and he must have made some kind of face because Danny narrowed his eyes and watched him closely.

"Steve? There's more behind it, isn't there?" Danny asked, shifting his weight to find a more comfortable position. "What are you not telling me?"

Slowly standing up, Steve looked down at his partner and pondered for a moment wether to tell him everything about Tim Dorosz and his daughter, but then he noticed Danny's pale face, the dark shadows under his eyes and the slight lines of pain on his forehead. "It's kind of a sad story, Danny," he said, folding his arms in front of his chest, hoping that Danny would be satisfied with his answer for the moment. "I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Okay," Danny agreed quietly, much too tired to argue with his partner. He took a deep breath trying to shake off the increasing weariness that crept over him, coughing weakly when he felt his chest tightening painfully. The heart monitor reacted immediately with an annoyed beeping that luckily fell silent again when Danny managed to breathe slowly and deeply. Unconsciously rubbing his hand over his right thigh again, he blinked tiredly and asked hoarsely, "What kind of poison was that anyway?"

"Oh, I think you're gonna love that one," Steve replied, and despite the slight teasing chuckle he glanced worriedly at his partner. After a short pause to emphasize his following statement he said slowly, "It was jellyfish poison."

"Jellyfish poison?" Danny repeated wide-eyed, shaking his head as he groaned in annoyance. "You have to be kidding me." He silently stared at his partner before he grumbled pointedly, "That is why I hate the ocean."

"You haven't even been anywhere near the ocean, Danno," Steve replied with a soft chuckle.

"No, thank God I haven't," Danny stated with a tired little sigh. "I probably would have drowned before I even knew what had hit me."

The smile dropped from Steve's face when he heard Danny's words and he shuddered to think what could have happened if he hadn't found Danny so fast.

"Guess I was lucky that you found me in time," Danny said quietly as if he had just read Steve's mind. The two friends exchanged a brief look of mutual understanding, both of them turning their heads when the door opened and Dr. Sakagami and Dr. Carmichael entered the room.

"You should thank Dr. Carmichael," Steve said, pointing at the beautiful red-haired woman. "She was the one who had the idea that you might have come in contact with jellyfish poison."

"And she insisted on the right treatment," Dr. Sakagami chimed in, smiling brightly as if he had been on Dr. Carmichael's side from the very beginning. "Her treatment approach was fantastic," he explained, waving his hands through the air as he rocked back and forth on his heels. The Asian doctor enthusiastically nodded his head and excitedly turned toward his colleague, "I think you should write about this case, contribute to a medical journal…" He interrupted his little outburst, sheepishly looking around when he heard Danny clear his throat. "Maybe we should discuss this later," he murmured to Dr. Carmichael who silently stared down at him, her pale blue eyes sparkling with pride when she nodded in agreement. She slowly turned around when her patient once more cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Well, thank you for saving my life, doc," Danny said, trying to sound cheerfully, but his voice held an unmistakable tone of weariness and pain. Despite his condition he struggled to sit up straighter in his bed and stretched out his hand, flashing the young doctor a flirting grin that caused Steve to roll his eyes.

"I just did my job, Detective," Dr. Carmichael answered with a genuine smile as she stepped closer to the bed and accepted the offered handshake. She briefly looked at the monitor, frowning slightly when she read Danny's vital parameters. "I think you need a little bit more rest," she declared and without waiting for him to agree she adjusted Danny's bed, forcing him to lie down flat on his back. "Do you need something for the pain?" she asked matter-of-factly but not without throwing him a sympathetic look.

"No, it's not that bad," Danny answered with a little shake of his head, blinking tiredly when he suddenly felt a huge wave of exhaustion surge through his body. He sighed wearily, shifting his weight a little bit to find a more comfortable position.

"Alright," Dr. Carmichael replied. "Just call the nurse if you need something."

"Thank you, doc," McGarrett answered in Danny's place as he watched his partner's struggle to keep his eyes open.

"You're welcome," the young woman said, nodding once at Steve before she threw a last glance at her patient. She smiled gently when she noticed that Danny had closed his eyes and his breathing was slowly evening out. "Let him sleep," she instructed Steve in a low whisper. "He needs some more rest."

"I will," Steve answered, watching how the two doctors slowly headed toward the door.

"About the article you suggested," he heard Dr. Carmichael address her colleague as they left the room. "I'm thinking of getting Professor Angelo on board. After all it was her antivenom that helped save Detective Williams's life."

"I think that is an excellent idea, my dear," Dr. Sakagami answered enthusiastically, closing the door behind them with a dull bang.

The sudden silence in the room was almost overwhelming and Steve took a deep breath as he tiredly rubbed his face. Turning around he was surprised to find Danny awake and looking at him out of bleary eyes.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Steve asked quickly, stepping closer to the bed. He eyeballed his partner, silently agreeing with Dr. Carmichael; Danny looked like he could use a good night's rest.

"Tired," Danny answered honestly after contemplating Steve's question for a few seconds. He weakly waved his right hand toward the door, "You don't need to stay. I have those two watchdogs in front of my door and I'm going to sleep anyway for the next few hours." He took a deep breath and locked eyes with his partner as he once more pointed at the door. "Go," he said hoarsely. "I'm okay."

"You sure?" Steve replied, torn between the need to stay at Danny's side and the wish to solve the case as soon as possible.

"Yes, I'm sure, Steven," Danny started to rant half-heartedly, hoping that his little speech would lessen Steve's concern a little bit. "I'm not a child anymore, you know? I'm going to sleep and when I wake up I hope that it's time for the pretty redhead to make her round. I never had such a good looking doctor before; that makes the whole stay here much more pleasant."

McGarrett burst out laughing, gently slapping Danny on the shoulder. "I'm not sure if I should leave you alone, Danno, if this is your idea of resting."

"Get the hell out of here, McGarrett," Danny joined in the laughter as he nodded toward the door. He barely suppressed a yawn when he snuggled deeper in the pillows, locking eyes with Steve as he asked with a small grin, "How am I supposed to rest with you hanging around and staring at me? That's just creepy."

"Okay, okay, you're right," Steve stopped his partner good-humoredly, defensively raising his hands. "I'm already leaving," he said, slowly heading toward the door. He felt much better now, having seen with his very eyes that Danny was on the road to recovery. Placing his right hand on the door handle he said over his shoulder, "I'll be back in a few hours. See you later, Danno."

"Bye, Steven," Danny replied quietly, his eyes already closed when his partner left the room. "And don't forget to bring my car keys when you come back."

**(tbc)**

* * *

Did you notice? No evil cliffhanger this time... I can be nice ;-)


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

"How's Danny?" Kono asked excitedly when Steve arrived at the university to meet with the cousins. She bounced on her feet, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear while she nervously awaited his answer.

"He's awake," Steve answered, smiling brightly at his two friends when he told them about Danny's condition. "He's exhausted and his leg is hurting but he will be fine," he said, nodding reassuringly as he repeated once more his last statement. "He will be fine," Steve breathed out in relief, having to hear the words again to really believe them.

"That's good news, brah," Chin said, smiling, happily slapping his hand on Steve's shoulder while Kono nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, it is," Steve agreed from the bottom of his heart. He briefly rubbed his hands over his face before he turned his attention to the task at hand. "So, where do we start?" he asked pensively, reading the big sign at the entrance of the campus that listed all the different departments.

"The Department of Tropical Medicine is in one of the buildings over there," Kono said, pointing to the other end of a small park that was crowded with lots of students who were standing together in small groups, discussing heatedly or just sitting on the grass, enjoying their afternoon in the warm sun.

"We just talked to Max," Chin told Steve while the three of them slowly walked toward a light red building with a green roof. "He confirmed that Timothy Dorosz had indeed shot himself and that his daughter died as a result of her disease."

A short moment of silence followed Chin's statement; her father might have done a lot of wrong but the fate of the little girl affected everyone deeply.

"Okay, good work," Steve replied hoarsely, awkwardly clearing his throat. "Any news from Fong?"

"He needs a little bit more time with the letter but he was positive that he would be able to make the rest of it legible," Kono explained as they reached the end of the park. "And Charlie already examined the little device that had been placed in Danny's shoe. He found absolutely no fingerprints but a tiny amount of liquid and after checking back with the university and Professor Angelo they are sure that they are dealing with the poison that had been stolen from her lab a few weeks ago."

"We just need to find out who had taken it," Chin added, turning his head to look at Steve. "Somehow I doubt that Tim Dorosz broke into the lab on his own account and stole the poison. My guess is whoever paid him also provided him with the poison."

"I think you're right," Steve agreed after contemplating Chin's words for a moment. "Now we just need to find out who is the mastermind behind all this."

They entered the building that housed Professor Angelo's laboratory and immediately turned left toward a small room when they read the sign at the entrance door that visitors were asked to check in with the janitor.

"How can I help you?" a native Hawaiian asked politely as soon as they'd entered the reception room.

The man was about sixty years old, his shoulder-length hair was tied back into a short ponytail and his dark eyes sparkled friendly behind inconspicuous rimless glasses. Noa Keona, as his name tag identified him, was sitting behind a large desk, curiously eyeing the three people in front of him.

"We want to talk to Professor Helen Angelo," McGarrett answered, letting his gaze blatantly travel through the small room.

There was a second desk next to Keona's, where a younger man was sitting, staring at the three computer screens in front of him, now and then rapidly typing something onto a black keyboard. He seemed to be oblivious to their presence, his whole body bobbing up and down in time with the music that sounded muffled from the large headphones he was wearing.

"Do you have an appointment?" Keona asked, slightly furrowing his brow when he quickly skimmed the sheets of paper in front of him before he looked back at Steve.

"I don't think we need one," Steve replied, flashing his badge at the older man. "McGarrett, Kalakaua, Kelly," he curtly introduced, pointing at each of them in turn. "Five-0."

"Oh," Keona breathed out a surprised little sigh, staring wide-eyed at the blue and golden badge at Steve's belt. He quickly turned around, giving his colleague a rude dig with his elbow as he shouted loudly, "Robbie, turn off that damn music. We have visitors."

"Ouch," the younger man yelled in surprise, whipping off his headphones as he whirled around and stared at Keona. "What the hell…" He interrupted himself when he noticed the three other people in the room, quickly pressing the space bar on his keyboard as he put the headphones away. The music stopped short and for a moment the room was filled with nothing but an awkward silence before Robbie cleared his throat and asked politely with a little flick of his wrist, "Hi, sorry for that. How can we help you?"

"These people are with Five-0," Keona explained before anyone else was able to say anything. "They want to talk to Professor Angelo."

"Could you just tell us where we can find her?" Steve asked brusquely, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he looked expectantly at the two men in front of him. He knew that he sounded impolite but he just couldn't shake the feeling that they were making absolutely no progress in finding out who was behind the attack on Danny's life.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but Professor Angelo is not here," Keona replied apologetically, reacting to Steve's sullen tone with a slight raise of his eyebrows. "She left the building about half an hour ago; you just missed her. Do you want to leave her a message?"

"We want to talk to her about the burglary in her laboratory two weeks ago," Steve explained, trying to hide the impatience that had flared up inside him when he'd learned that the professor was not there. "Do you know when she will be back?"

"I'm not familiar with the professor's private schedule," the Hawaiian janitor said reluctantly, slightly shaking his head. Considering his answer for a moment his gaze briefly flashed back to Steve's badge and suddenly he seemed to make a decision. "I'm probably not supposed to tell but…" Keona hesitated for another short moment before he took a deep breath and continued. "Every Wednesday afternoon Professor Angelo goes out to have a cup of coffee with her best friend; she's usually back after about an hour," he told them in a low, conspiratorial voice. His dark eyes began to glisten when he leaned forward in his chair; now that he had started talking he seemed to get more comfortable with every word he said. "She told us once that Wednesday is her Girl's day, I heard her calling those meetings her 'escape from everyday life'. And I think the two women have cocktails rather than coffee, at least the professor is extremely happy and good-humored every time she comes back."

"Well, I wouldn't mind having coffee with her friend," Robbie chimed in, a leering grin playing across his lips. "That woman is a looker."

"Dream on, kid," Keona laughed out loud when he saw the look on Robbie's face. "She's definitely not your league."

Pointedly clearing his throat Steve interrupted the little banter, causing both men to jump in surprise. Seeing the impatience and hint of anger on Steve's face Keona pointed at his young colleague and said quickly, "As I said, the professor is usually back after about an hour. But if you want to know anything about the incident two weeks ago, maybe you should talk to Robbie… he's the one who noticed the burglary."

"That's true," Robbie confirmed, raising his eyebrows as he slowly stood up from his chair. "But I've already given my statement to the police."

"Well, we would like to hear it again, if you don't mind," Steve replied, slightly annoyed.

"Alright," Robbie said, indifferently shrugging his shoulders. "But I fear there's not much to tell."

"It was exactly two weeks ago," he started to explain as he sat down on the edge of his desk and nervously intertwined his fingers. "Professor Angelo was attending a conference on the mainland and her lab was supposed to be closed for the whole week. When I made my regular evening round through the building I found the entrance door broken. I went inside but everything seemed to be alright. It was just when the professor came back a few days later that she noticed that one vial of her precious jellyfish venom was missing."

"Did no one else notice the loss earlier?" Kono wondered, exchanging a brief glance with her cousin who seemed to be equally surprised. "What about co-workers or students?"

Robbie shook his head, "She's working alone."

"I don't think jellyfish poison is really a coveted study area among the students," Keona stated dryly. "When she started her studies in 2009, Professor Angelo worked together with a partner and two or three students but they soon left one after the other when the research showed no immediate success. Over the last few years a handful of students came and went but since the last one dropped out last summer the professor decided to work alone in the future."

"We are no scientists," Robbie took over, briefly pointing at Keona and himself. "But as far as we know, Professor Angelo made huge progress in the last few months and it was only in April when she finally found the antivenom she was looking for."

The two men exchanged a short look before Robbie continued pensively, still nervously intertwining his fingers, "I think the professor was a little bit disappointed that her success in finding that antivenom was kind of ignored by her colleagues; nobody seemed to care about her research or came to congratulate her on her success." His voice held a hint of sadness and from the way he was talking it was obvious that he thought a lot of Professor Angelo.

"So, she doesn't have any enemies or enviers?" Chin asked when Robbie had finished his explanation and silently stood up from the desk and sat back down on his chair. "Is there no one who would break into her lab and steal something that is important to her research?"

"I don't think so," Keona replied and Robbie shook his head to emphasize the other man's words. "As I said before, her field of research is obviously not very popular."

"Okay," Steve said with an annoyed little sigh, changing the topic with a small wave of his hands. "Maybe you can remember anything else about the day of the burglary?" he addressed both men in front of him. "Any unexpected visitors? Maybe craftsmen who did some repair work? Anything you can think of might be helpful." Steve's thoughts traveled back to Tim Dorosz and he wondered briefly if the man had used the same disguise twice.

Once more Robbie shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "It was just a normal day," he said apologetically, looking up at Steve. "We don't get many visitors here so if there had been one we would certainly remember it. And we do most of the repair work by ourselves."

Steve narrowed his eyes when he noticed that Noa Keona was sitting up straighter in his chair, repeatedly running his right thumb across his upper lip.

"Do you remember anything?" McGarrett asked as gently as his lingering impatience allowed. The feeling that they were wasting their time slowly changed into nervous anticipation; he was suddenly sure that they somehow missed an important detail.

"Now that you mentioned it…" Keona said hesitantly, holding Steve's gaze for a moment before he addressed his colleague. "I think we had a visitor that day, Robbie."

"We did?" Robbie repeated in surprise, furrowing his brow as he tried to minutely remember said day two weeks ago.

"You probably don't remember because she comes here every Wednesday afternoon to pick up Professor Angelo," Keona replied, nodding slowly when Robbie took in a sharp breath and stared at him wide-eyed. "

"You are right," the younger man exclaimed, excitedly rubbing his hands. A bright smile lit up his face when he said dreamily, "Gladys had been here."

"Gladys?" Steve repeated slightly confused, his gaze darting between Keona and Robbie. "Who is Gladys?"

"Professor Angelo's friend," Keona explained, shaking his head about the goofy grin that still played across Robbie's lips. "The one she's having coffee with right now."

"And does Gladys have a last name?" Steve wanted to know, trying to hide the excitement that had built up inside him. If the two women were best friends, surely this Gladys would have known about Professor Angelo's absence. Why would she come here while the professor attended a conference on the mainland? Steve was positive that the ominous woman had something to do with the stolen jellyfish poison.

"I'm sure she has," Keona answered wittily, quickly swallowing down a small chuckle when he saw the look on Steve's face. "But I fear we don't know it. All we know is that her first name is Gladys and that she is a doctor. I'm sorry."

"Did I mention that I wouldn't mind playing doctor with her?" Robbie chimed in once more, giving Kono an impish wink that caused her to roll her eyes in annoyance.

"Yes you did – repeatedly," Keona replied good-humoredly, slapping his hands on the younger man's shoulder and shake him gently. "I didn't know that you have a thing for redheads."

Steve's head snapped up.

A cold shiver ran down his spine and his fingers began to tingle when his mind tried to process Keona's latest statement. The missing pieces of the jigsaw slowly started to fall into place and he slightly shook his head about the enormity of his suspicion.

"Boss?" he heard Kono call out for him, her voice colored with curiosity and concern. "Is everything alright?"

Steve drew in a sharp breath as he slightly raised his right hand to prevent any further questions from his teammates; first he needed a few moments to sort his whirling thoughts. It was surely nothing more than coincidence that Professor Angelo's best friend was a pretty, red-haired doctor, right?

"Do you know where this Gladys is working?" McGarrett asked, trying with all his might to keep his voice calm and low. He could feel Chin and Kono tense next to him; the cousins obviously noticed that something strange was going on but they were smart enough to keep silent and watch for the moment.

"She's working at a private practice," Robbie replied slowly, throwing a questioning look at his colleague. "Is that correct, Noa?"

"Yeah, I think you're right," Keona nodded tentatively, once again slowly running his thumb across his lips.

Realizing that he had held his breath Steve puffed out the air in a long quiet sigh and relaxed slightly. So it really was mere coincidence that the doctor that had saved Danny's life was also a red-haired beauty.

"Oh no, wait," Keona exclaimed suddenly, smiling brightly at the fact that he remembered something Professor Angelo had told him recently. "I think she switched to Queens a few weeks ago."

Steve felt like he had been hit with a huge hammer as one shiver after the other crawled across his back and up his neck. The world around him seemed to come to a dead halt and he actually had to force himself to draw a proper breath.

"She's working at Queens?" he finally hissed, gritting his teeth as he stared at the two men in front of him. He briefly clenched his fists when they both affirmed his question by nodding their heads before he vigorously rubbed his hands over his face.

"Steve? What's the matter?" Kono asked worriedly, nervously watching Steve's strange behavior.

"Are you alright, brah?" Chin added, exchanging a quick look with his cousin.

"I think Gladys and Dr. Carmichael are one and the same person," Steve whispered distractedly, his gaze darting through the room without really seeing anything.

"Who is Dr. Carmichael?" Chin asked quietly, quizzically raising his hands as he looked at his boss.

"Dr. Carmichael is Danny's doctor," McGarrett answered gloomily, still not meeting Chin's or Kono's gaze. "She's the woman that saved his life."

There was a short moment of silence before Kono hesitantly started to smile. "Wow, so Danny was really lucky, wasn't he?" she said slowly, deeply confused about the sullen look on Steve's face. "What a happy coincidence that his doctor is close friends with Professor Angelo. She probably knew about the antivenom and that saved Danny's life, right?"

"Yeah, right," Steve nodded sharply, turning around to face his two teammates. His expression was totally blank, only his eyes glistened cold and dangerous in his pale face.

"Then what's the matter?" Kono asked cautiously, involuntarily taking a step closer to her cousin.

Steve briefly squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. The temperature in the room suddenly seemed to drop noticeably when he finally raised his voice.

"I'm just wondering why the two women acted like they had never met before when Professor Angelo arrived at the hospital to deliver the antivenom."

**(tbc)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

The room was dead silent after Steve's harshly whispered question; even Keona and Robbie had stopped their friendly banter, staring wide-eyed at the leader of Five-0.

"You think Danny's doctor first poisoned him and then saved his life?" Chin asked cautiously, the noticeable doubt in his usually calm voice showing clearly how confused he was about Steve's statement.

"Why would she do that?" Kono added, shaking her head as she tried to come up with a satisfying answer to her own question.

"I have absolutely no idea," Steve exclaimed, running his hand through his hair in utter frustration. He puffed out a deep breath and briefly shut his eyes before he looked at his two teammates. "First of all we need to find out if I'm right about Dr. Carmichael," he said agitatedly. "Kono, can you contact the hospital and find out…"

"… her first name," Kono interrupted him with a small smile, already pulling out her cell phone to follow his order. "I'm on it, boss," she said, taking a few steps back to have some privacy.

Nodding a brief thank you in her direction, Steve turned his attention to Chin, throwing him a questioning glance when he noticed that the older man was also fiddling with his phone.

"I'm connecting to our database at headquarters," Chin explained while he tapped the small screen a few times. "I guess you want to have a photo of Dr. Carmichael to confirm that she and that Gladys are one and the same person." It was more a statement than a question and Chin smiled briefly when Steve only silently nodded in agreement.

McGarrett took a deep breath, trying to calm his frayed nerves. He was extremely thankful that his team was thinking so fast, always a step ahead of his own thoughts, and even if they were one man short and he dearly missed his partner he was absolutely positive that they were able to solve the mystery of their current case.

Only a short moment later Kono returned to the small group of people, her expression grim and her lips pressed together in a tight line. "Dr. Carmichael's first name is Gladys," she sternly confirmed Steve's suspicion. "And I checked with the hospital, she's off duty at the moment, so whatever place she's staying right now, it's not the hospital."

"Well, at least she's not near Danny," Steve murmured hoarsely, looking at Chin when the older man cleared his throat and raised his right hand, turning his phone so that Steve could throw a look at the small screen.

"Dr. Gladys Carmichael," Chin presented, adding the few facts he had been able to collect in the short amount of time. "31, born and raised in Chicago, she moved to Hawaii about six months ago after spending a few years in Australia."

Steve nodded sharply when he saw the familiar face of Danny's doctor and then jerked his head in the direction of Keona and Robbie, causing Chin to turn around and show the two men the picture on the screen. It was nothing more than the simple, official photo from her driver's license but even that little picture clearly showed how stunningly beautiful Dr. Carmichael was.

"Yes, that's Professor Angelo's friend," Robbie confirmed immediately. He seemed to have understood the gravity of the situation and the cocky grin from before had disappeared from his face; he skipped any saucy comment he might have had on the tip of his tongue when he looked up from the photo and met Steve's gaze. "That's Gladys."

Taking a deep breath, Steve rubbed his hands over his face in a vain attempt to sort his whirling thoughts. He had absolutely no idea why that woman had tried to kill his partner. Was she just a crazy lunatic? Was she working alone or was there more than what was just visible at first sight?

"What are we going to do now, boss?" Kono asked grimly; the expression on her face left absolutely no doubt that she was determined to find the woman who was behind the attack on Danny's life, no matter what.

"Let's split up," Steve answered after a few seconds of contemplation. His glance was steely and his voice dripped with barely concealed anger that made Kono almost feel sorry for Dr. Carmichael once McGarrett found her. "Kono, you stay here and wait for Professor Angelo; I want to know how far she's involved," he ordered, waiting briefly for Kono's affirmative nod before he addressed her cousin. "Chin, find out where Dr. Carmichael is living and see if she's at home. We need to find her as fast as possible; involve HPD if necessary." Letting his gaze travel between his two teammates Steve added sternly, "We don't know how dangerous that woman is or if she has any accomplices. I don't want you to take any risks; don't hesitate to call for back-up."

"Understood," the cousins replied with one voice, exchanging a short look of mutual understanding.

"I guess you head for the hospital and look after Danny?" Chin asked, not surprised when Steve vigorously affirmed his question.

"I want to be there in case Dr. Carmichael comes back," Steve confirmed while he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'll call the officers who are keeping watch in front of Danny's door and let them know what we found out," he explained while he skimmed the numbers on his phone. "They need to be extra careful since we don't know if any other hospital staff is involved; and they can look out for our good doctor and take her into custody until I'm there."

After finally having found the number he had been looking for, Steve pressed the phone to his ear and a few moments later he was on the line with one of the police officers at the hospital. He agitatedly paced the small room while he curtly explained the current situation, making absolutely clear that Danny's security was the top priority and that – even if their main suspect was Dr. Carmichael – literally everyone else was a potential accessory. "I'll be there as soon as possible," he ended the call with the strong urge to be at Danny's side sooner rather than later.

"Any more questions?" he asked brusquely, nodding in satisfaction when Chin and Kono both shook their heads. "Okay, then let's…"

"There's Professor Angelo!" Steve was interrupted by Keona's surprised exclamation and he whirled around just in time to see the Hawaiian janitor raise his hand and point out of the window where the same short, corpulent woman with raven-black hair Steve had met earlier that day at the hospital was slowly walking towards the building. Her shoulders were slouched and her pace seemed to be a bit unsteady; every now and then she rubbed her eyes as if to wipe away a few unwanted tears.

"Something's wrong," Robbie whispered, narrowing his eyes as he watched the professor approach the entrance door. "That's not her usual Wednesday-coming-back-from-the-coffee-and-cocktail -hour mood."

"No, it isn't," Keona agreed, obviously worried about the woman's well-being. "She looks really sad."

Gritting his teeth, Steve listened with half an ear to the whispered conversation before he took a deep breath to prepare himself for the upcoming meeting with Professor Angelo. Until they were sure that the woman wasn't involved in the attack on Danny's life, he couldn't care less if she looked sad or not. He forcefully pulled himself together; even if he had huge difficulty treating her as not guilty he was willing to assume her innocence until proven otherwise. He smiled grimly when he thought about his partner – 'innocent until proven guilty' was one of the principle rules in law enforcement and Steve was sure that Danny would be very proud of him right now.

"Let's go," he hissed tensely, storming out of the small reception room with Chin and Kono close on his heels.

The three members of Five-0 arrived at the entrance door at the same moment as Professor Angelo entered the building. The small woman looked up with a start, one hand still on the door handle, her mouth wide open in blank astonishment. She shrunk back, looking for a brief moment as if she was trying to run away, before all tension suddenly left her body and she sagged visibly; she might even have dropped to her knees if not for Steve, who for the second time that day shot forward and tightened his fingers around her upper arm to keep her upright.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked quietly after a short moment, tentatively removing his hand when he felt the professor recover her balance.

Nodding shakily, Helen Angelo quickly looked down to avoid Steve's inquiring gaze. "Yes, thank you," she whispered hoarsely, swallowing nervously when she noticed the steely expression on his face. Sighing heavily she opened and closed her mouth a few times without actually saying anything before she came to a decision and forcefully squared her shoulders. She slightly raised her head and her gaze briefly flickered to Kono and Chin before she exhaled slowly and locked eyes with McGarrett.

"You have to believe me that I have no idea what is going on," Helen said matter-of-factly, for the first time that day not acting like a frightened little girl but like the successful scientist she actually was.

"I'm sure you understand that I have a hard time believing you, Professor," Steve snorted coldly, narrowing his eyes as he tried to read the expression on the woman's face. He looked at her for a long moment, slightly shaking his head when she remained silent. "We know that you and Dr. Carmichael are close friends…" Steve's voice was dangerously low and he unconsciously stepped closer to the professor, causing the woman to stumble back in return. "But this morning at the hospital you both acted like you had never met before." He took a deep breath, tightly clenching his fists at the side of his body to prevent himself from reaching out and shaking the woman in front of him as he growled angrily, "Would you be so kind and explain that little fact to us?"

Professor Angelo involuntarily took another step back, staring wide-eyed at Steve's intimidating form that was looming over her. "Please," she said, visibly scared. "I really have no idea. I… I never wanted anyone to get hurt." Helen folded her arms in front of her body, hunching her shoulders as if she felt cold.

Steve heard a cell phone beeping next to him and out of the corner of his eyes he saw Kono reaching into her pocket, but he kept his attention on the woman in front of him, trusting his teammate to inform him if the message was important.

"Why don't you just start at the beginning?" Chin suddenly chimed in, his dark, quiet voice immediately calming the frightened professor.

"Alright," Helen replied hoarsely, wrapping her arms tighter around her body as she nodded slowly. "I got a phone call from Queen's hospital this morning that they were looking for someone with expertise in jellyfish venom," she started to explain, slowly at first but becoming more confident with every word she said. "I was a little bit surprised when it was Gladys – Dr. Carmichael – on the other end of the line, because she could have contacted me directly, we've known each other for years; needless to say that she knows everything about my research. She seemed to be really excited about something and she told me that she urgently needed a dose of my newly developed antivenom."

Professor Angelo stopped for a short moment, briefly raising her right hand to toy with one of her small golden earrings before she crossed her arms again. "But her next request was a little bit strange…" her voice trailed off when she slightly shrugged her shoulders. "Gladys urged me to pretend that we never met before and before I could ask for an explanation she had ended the call."

"And so you just did what she asked," Steve stated, his voice still colored with barely hidden anger. He thought back to the meeting in Danny's hospital room earlier that day and he had to admit that the two women had acted totally believable; he would never have doubted that they were total strangers.

"Gladys is one of my oldest friends, of course I did," Helen replied forcefully, raising her hands to emphasize her words as she held Steve's hard gaze for a long moment. "She promised to explain everything to me later, so I played along." She once more shrugged her shoulders before she heaved a deep sigh and cast down her eyes. Steve almost thought that she'd keep silent forever, staring at the floor before her feet but then she finally said in a low whisper, "But when we just met like every other Wednesday she refused to tell me anything. I was asking her what's going on but she just smiled a secret smile and said that it was too early to tell and that I would learn everything in due time."

"She didn't say anything more specific?" McGarrett asked impatiently, briefly nodding towards Kono who had caught his gaze, slightly raising her cell phone to indicate that the message she had got was indeed important.

"Not really," Professor Angelo said slowly, her voice heavy with disbelief. "She just said she did it for us. She said, now we can finally receive the credit that we deserve." Raising her head, she locked eyes with Steve, her expression a strange mixture of fear and hope. "She wouldn't tell me what exactly she had done but you have to believe me that whatever it is, I had nothing to do with all this. I swear I have absolutely no idea what this is all about."

"So you didn't know that Dr. Carmichael was the one who broke into your lab two weeks ago and stole the poison?" Steve asked bluntly, narrowing his eyes when he tried to read the expression on Helen's face. He knew there was no proof that it really was the red-haired doctor who had committed the theft but he was just trying his luck and hoping to provoke any kind of reaction from the professor.

"No," Helen replied immediately, vigorously shaking her head while she stared wide-eyed at Steve. "She... she was the one who broke into my lab? I can't believe that… Why would she do that to me?" Professor Angelo sagged backward and leaned heavily against the wall, once more crossing her arms in front of her chest, repeatedly shaking her head while she thought about Steve's words.

"Boss?" Kono quietly chimed in, slightly jerking her head to the left to indicate for Steve to follow her out of earshot.

"What is it?" Steve wanted to know, curiously staring down at the black cell phone that Kono handed him silently.

"It's a message from Charlie; he's been able to decipher the rest of the suicide note." Her expression was unreadable when she instructed curtly, "Here it is. Read it."

Steve exchanged a brief look with Chin, furrowing his brow when the older man nodded toward the small device in Steve's hand and quietly repeated his cousin's words. "Just read it."

"Alright," McGarrett murmured more to himself than to his teammates as he started to scroll through the text on the small screen.

'_My little girl is gone. Oh God, she is gone and I wasn't there for her. I left her alone for two hours and when I came back she was gone. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I lost everything, first my wife and now my little Laura. She was my one and only, my little princess, my world, and I left her alone. And to make everything a thousand times worse I did something terrible, I put the life of an innocent man in danger. I don't even know who he was. He seemed to be a nice guy and I sacrificed his life without hesitation. I can't live with that guilt. But I did it for my little girl; I did it to save her.'_

Steve quickly skimmed the first part of the letter that Kono had read out loud at the crime scene earlier that day. His heart still clenched in sympathy when he thought about the fate of the little girl and he briefly stopped reading when he imagined Danny's reaction once he learned about that special father-daughter-relationship.

After a short moment of contemplation Steve slightly shook his head and continued reading. His eyes widened in surprise and his gaze flickered to Chin and Kono when he stumbled over a familiar name on the screen of the cell phone.

'_I did it in exchange for her treatment, the treatment I would never have been able to pay for otherwise. But Dr. Carmichael promised me she would treat her for free if I just carried out her order. I don't know what she had against that man or why she wanted to see him dead, and to be honest I don't care. I just did what she asked to save my little girl even if I knew it was wrong. I would have done anything for her, anything. But it was too late; everything I did was in vain. Laura is gone. Oh God, she is gone and I wasn't there for her. I failed not only my wife but also my little girl. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just hope they can forgive me when I see them again.'_

Reading the last few paragraphs over and over again to make sure he hadn't misread them, Steve involuntarily tightened his grip around Kono's cell phone. Now that they had it in black and white that Dr. Carmichael was behind the attack on his partner he felt a huge wave of anger surge through his mind. That woman had not only endangered Danny's life, she had also used a desperate father to carry out her devious plan.

Gritting his teeth he handed the phone back to Kono with a sharp nod of his head and turned around to face Professor Angelo. "Do you know anything about Timothy Dorosz? Or about his daughter Laura?" Steve barked out, ignoring the frightened look on the woman's face. "Did Dr. Carmichael ever mention one of these names?"

Staring at Steve like a deer caught in the headlights, Helen Angelo swallowed a few times before she slowly shook her head. "No," she replied hoarsely, clearing her throat when her voice threatened to crack. "I've never heard these names before."

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears and Steve sighed silently when he noticed her sincere expression. "Alright," he finally breathed out, impatiently running a hand through his hair as he faced his two teammates. "Let's stick to our original plan and split up. Kono, would you escort Professor Angelo to the office and take her official statement?"

"Will do, boss." Steve smiled a brief thank you when Kono nodded her approval before he turned to Chin, just going to repeat his former instructions and send him to Dr. Carmichael's apartment. He interrupted himself when a sudden inspiration crossed his mind and he once more addressed Professor Angelo who still leaned against the wall, a sad, pensive expression on her pale face.

"You don't know by any chance where Dr. Carmichael is right now?" he asked on the spur of the moment, hoping to curtail the search for the woman who was responsible for Danny's current condition.

Looking up, Helen met Steve's gaze as she apathetically shrugged her shoulders. "I think she went back to the hospital," she said softly. "At least that is what she told me."

A cold shiver ran down Steve's spine when he took in her words. For the length of a heartbeat the world around him seemed to come to a total standstill before he breathed in the air in a sharp gasp and whirled around. "Chin, you come with me," he ordered curtly, already heading toward the exit. "Call HPD and tell them to meet us at Queen's."

* * *

Professor Helen Angelo watched in astonishment how Commander McGarrett rushed out of the door, his colleague close on his heels. She actually was kind of relieved that the man was gone, she still remembered vividly the moment in the hospital when his fingers had painfully tightened around her arm and she had to admit that she felt rather uncomfortable in his presence. Unconsciously rubbing her hand over the exact same spot Helen winced slightly when the woman next to her suddenly raised her voice and asked her politely to follow her outside.

Pensively raising her right hand to toy with one of her golden earrings, she thought about everything that had happened today and all the different pieces of the puzzle slowly started to click into place. By now she had a fairly good idea of what Gladys had done and about the reasons behind her actions.

A slight smile tentatively crept across Helen's face. She had been honest when she had told Commander McGarrett that she hadn't known about Gladys' plans and that she hadn't want anyone to get hurt. But the longer she thought about it the more she felt that she possibly could use the situation to her advantage. The damage was already done, so why not make the best of it? After all it had been her antivenom that had saved Detective Williams' life.

And Gladys was right – it was about time that she finally received a little bit of recognition for her long years of research.

**(tbc)**

* * *

Real life is terribly busy at the moment and I want to apologize in advance in case I'm not able to post a new chapter next week.

Thank you so much for your continuous support, all your fantastic reviews make my day! :-)


	10. Chapter 10

I'm really sorry for the long delay, but as I said... real life is terribly busy...  
I hope you enjoy the next chapter, thanks a lot for your patience.

* * *

**Chapter 10:**

When Steve and Chin arrived at the hospital, Sergeant Duke Lukela and seven other police officers were already waiting in the entrance hall, immediately interrupting their hushed conversation when they saw the two members of Five-0 enter the building.

Nodding a brief welcome at the uniformed men and women Steve slapped his hand at Chin's shoulder and without another word he hurried toward the elevators, leaving it to his teammate to take all necessary steps to organize the search for Dr. Carmichael.

Waiting for the elevator to reach the fourth floor, Steve impatiently drummed the fingers of his right hand against his thigh, trying to block out the conversations of the people around him until the elevator finally stopped with a loud ringing. Murmuring an apology Steve squeezed past an elderly couple and headed directly for Danny's room, intently looking around for any sign of the young red-haired doctor.

McGarrett briefly talked to the two police officers who obediently stood guard in front of the door to Danny's room, promising to be back in no time to give them a detailed explanation of the current situation. But first he took the time to peek into Danny's room, pleasantly surprised to find his friend sitting on the edge of the bed, looking pale and worn but definitely better than before and very much alive. The IV port at the right side of Danny's neck was still there but instead of three different drugs there was only one bag with saline solution delivering its content to Danny's bloodstream.

"Hey," Steve exclaimed happily, shoving all the thoughts about Dr. Carmichael to the back of his mind when he smiled brightly at his partner. "How are you doing?" He had barely entered the room with his right hand still resting on the door handle, torn between the wish to stay at Danny's side and the need to find the woman who was the cause for Danny's current condition.

"Hey," Danny greeted back with a tired grin, heavily supporting himself with his right hand on the mattress while he slowly raised his left hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The slight tremor of his fingers didn't go unnoticed, causing Steve to furrow his brow in worry.

"Are you allowed to be up?" the former SEAL asked sternly, quickly stepping further into the room as he closed the door behind him.

"Of course I am," Danny replied, rolling his eyes in annoyance as he stared back at his partner. "Dr. Sakagami was here earlier and he said he wanted me to get up, not only to elevate my blood pressure but also for a few more tests. In fact he will be back in a few minutes, I think."

"Okay," Steve said slowly. "Good." He stared at Danny for a long moment before he breathed out a faint sigh and glanced back over his shoulder. "Listen, Danno," he started haltingly, briefly interrupting himself to clear his throat as he jerked his head toward the two policemen in front of Danny's room. "I need to talk to the officers… I'll be right back, okay?"

Now it was Danny's turn to furrow his brow when he noticed Steve's uneasiness, cocking his head a little bit to the right as he eyeballed his partner. "What's that face?" he asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes as he straightened his back in an attempt to get up. He bit back a groan when a wave of pain rushed through his right leg and he silently cursed the momentary weakness of his body when he slumped back onto the bed, breathing deeply against the pain.

"What's wrong, Steven?" Danny asked hoarsely, closely studying the expression on his friend's face. "Spill it!"

Steve had stepped closer to the bed when he had watched Danny's painful attempt to stand up, his eyes dark with worry for his partner, but he hesitantly stopped his approach when Danny sullenly waved him off with a short flick of his wrist and a slight shake of his head, indicating that he didn't need or want Steve's help but rather longed for some answers.

"I'll tell you later," McGarrett replied softly after a short moment of silence. He knew that Danny was burning to learn what was going on but that story wasn't told in a few seconds and before he could start he needed to make sure that all available police officers joined in the search for Dr. Carmichael. "I really need to talk to those officers first," he repeated as he quickly retreated toward the door. He flashed Danny a wry grin that was supposed to calm him down but that only caused the other man to frown back at him in annoyance. "Don't go anywhere," Steve added with a last look at Danny as he opened the door and stepped into the corridor without giving Danny the chance to reply.

"Steven, don't you dare leave…" Danny exclaimed but his partner had already left the room and his voice trailed off mid-sentence. He stared at the closed door, shaking his head in frustration as he tiredly puffed out a breath of air. "… without telling me what's going on," Danny finally finished even if there was nobody around to hear him.

"Don't go anywhere, he says," Danny murmured grumpily, waving his hands through the air in a small circle. He once more shook his head when he added quietly, "Great, thank you very much for that civilized conversation, you Neanderthal animal."

Slightly shifting his weight Danny grimaced when a new wave of pain rolled through his right leg. Cursing inwardly about his uncommunicative partner he slowly leant back, supporting himself on his left hand while he placed the other hand on his right thigh, trying to massage the pain away.

Staring angrily at the large clock on the wall opposite to his bed, Danny sighed heavily; he was frustrated, and he was hurting, but most of all he was tired of waiting. Waiting for the nurse to bring him something proper to eat, waiting for Dr. Sakagami to come back to do his stupid tests, waiting for his partner to finally tell him what the hell was going on.

Danny felt his mood go downhill rapidly and he closed his eyes to take a few deep breaths that were supposed to calm him down a little bit but didn't really help. When he heard someone enter the room a few moments later he sighed in defeat, preparing himself for the probably painful and tiring tests that were lying ahead of him.

"Hello Detective, how are you feeling?" Danny heard a gentle voice somewhere in front of him and when his eyes snapped open in surprise he found himself face to face with Dr. Carmichael. The bright smile on her beautiful face was like the sun peeking through some heavy storm clouds and Danny felt how his bad mood immediately disappeared when he grinned back at her.

* * *

"Report to Lieutenant Kelly and Sergeant Lukela," Steve quietly instructed the two police officers while he walked them to the elevators to send them downstairs where they would join the search party for Dr. Carmichael.

He lowered his voice even more, making sure that no passing nurse, doctor or visitor heard him talking about the red-haired woman. He knew that rumors about a rogue doctor would spread like wildfire and the last thing they needed right now was a panic that most probably would tip Gladys Carmichael off before they got to her.

Not wanting to waste precious time, Steve accompanied the two men to the end of the corridor while he explained the current situation, interrupting himself once when out of the corner of his eyes he noticed movement in front of Danny's room. Narrowing his eyes he briefly glanced back over his shoulder, puffing out a relieved breath of air when he saw Dr. Sakagami. The short Asian doctor nodded a brief greeting in Steve's direction before he entered Danny's room and swiftly closed the door behind him.

Turning his attention back to the police officers, Steve gave them some last instructions as they finally reached the elevator. Thanking the two men for their sentry in front of Danny's room, Steve watched the elevator doors close behind them; he was just heading back to his partner when his cell phone started to buzz. Pulling the device out of his pocket he grimaced when he noticed the caller's ID. The day had passed in hectic activity and despite all the worry for his friend he had totally forgotten to inform Danny's family about his condition.

Retreating into a quiet corner of the corridor Steve briefly scrubbed his hand over his mouth before he heaved a deep sigh and pressed the phone to his ear to answer the call.

"Hey Gracie," he said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. "What's up, kiddo?"

"Hi Uncle Steve," Danny's daughter replied timidly as if she was already sensing that something was wrong. "Do you know where Danno is? He isn't answering his phone and I want to tell him about the science project we started at school today."

"Uhm, Gracie, listen sweetheart," Steve started hesitantly, awkwardly clearing his throat as he thought about the best way to break the news to Danny's little girl. He massaged the back of his neck with his free hand, taking a deep breath as he briefly closed his eyes to gather his thoughts.

"Is Danno alright?" Grace suddenly interrupted his musings, the slight tremor in her voice told Steve that she was close to tears. "Can I speak to him?"

"Uhm, not right now, Gracie, I'm sorry," McGarrett said gently, trying not to scare her even more than she already was. "Danno was hurt this morning and he's in the hospital right now to be checked out," he explained, straining the truth as much as possible without really lying to his adopted niece. "But he will be alright and I'm sure he can leave soon. I'll tell him that you called and he will call you back as soon as possible, okay sweetie?"

Steve spent the next few minutes comforting Grace and assuring her that her father was alright and eagerly waiting for their next weekend together. When the girl had finally calmed down she started to tell Steve about her day at school and they chatted more than ten minutes about her science project and her plans for the weekend. In all that time, Steve never let the door to Danny's room out of sight and he repeatedly scanned the corridor and the elevators for any sign of Dr. Carmichael's characteristic mane of red hair.

Breathing out a weary sigh when he had finally said goodbye to Grace and ended the call, Steve literally wiped some pearls of sweat from his forehead. Taking that call and talking to Grace about her father's well-being was one of the hardest things he'd ever done and he prayed to all known deities that he would never have to deliver any bad news to her.

He stowed away the cell phone in his pocket and slowly made his way back to Danny's room, trying to shake off the gloomy thoughts that the phone call had triggered. Danny had survived the cruel attempt on his life and he would be alright; there was really no need to dwell on what-ifs.

Steve had almost reached Danny's room when the door opened and Dr. Sakagami entered the corridor, a content smile on his wrinkled face.

"Ah, Commander McGarrett," he greeted the taller man, offering his hand as he approached the Ex-SEAL.

Remembering Dr. Carmichael's words from earlier that day, Steve had to suppress a grin when he looked down at the Asian doctor; he really looked a little bit like an old dwarf and Steve was barely able to control himself not to crouch down to be at eye level with the other man.

"How is Danny?" Steve wanted to know as he shook the offered hand and the smile on Dr. Sakagami's face brightened even more when he heard the question.

"He's doing much better," the doctor said, cheerfully nodding his head a few times. "I want to keep him another day for observation but I think he will be released tomorrow."

"That's good news," Steve replied with a happy grin, the dark thoughts from before easily forgotten. "Thank you, doc."

"You're most welcome, Commander," Dr. Sakagami said with another nod of his head. "He's really much better," he repeated once more as he raised his chin to lock eyes with McGarrett. "Not least because of Dr. Carmichael, I must add."

The smile immediately disappeared from Steve's face when he heard that name and his eyes started to sparkle dangerously, a fact that Dr. Sakagami either hadn't noticed or plainly and simply ignored.

"She really did an outstanding job here," the Asian doctor said proudly, dreamily looking back over his shoulder toward Danny's room.

"Yeah, an outstanding job," Steve repeated in an angry murmur, shaking his head when the other man turned around and stared at him in bewilderment.

"Sorry?" Dr. Sakagami asked hesitantly, obviously not sure what to think of Steve's comment.

"It's alright," McGarrett stopped him with a little wave of his hand. "But speaking of Dr. Carmichael… you don't happen to know where she is right now?"

The smile on the doctor's face brightened again and Steve almost smiled back at him but then he literally felt the blood freezing in his veins when he heard Dr. Sakagami's answer.

"Of course I do," the Asian doctor said cheerfully, briefly pointing over his shoulder. "She's still in there with your partner."

Time seemed to stand completely still for the length of a heartbeat before Steve whirled around without another word and stormed into Danny's room.

**(tbc)**


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks again for your patience :-)  
We're almost done with this story, I hope you enjoy the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 11:**

"Stay away from him," Steve hissed, drawing his weapon as soon as he had entered Danny's room and got a look at the scene in front of him.

Dr. Carmichael was standing with her back towards the door, facing Danny who was still sitting on the edge of the bed. Beads of sweat were covering his forehead and if possible he was even paler than before, looking totally exhausted and ready to collapse any moment but nevertheless he raised his head when Steve stormed into the room, staring at his partner out of bleary blue eyes.

"Stay away from him," Steve repeated once more, his voice now nothing more than an angry growl. He slowly circled the bed so that he was able to take a better look at the red-haired woman who stood completely unmoving, seemingly oblivious of the gun that was aimed directly at her back. "Put your hands up and step back from the bed," McGarrett instructed coldly, narrowing his eyes when Dr. Carmichael still made absolutely no move. His gaze briefly flickered to Danny, assessing his partner's condition, but except for an utter exhaustion Danny seemed to be unharmed and Steve quickly returned his attention to the young doctor.

"Now!" Steve snarled as he cocked his weapon and slightly raised his hands so that the gun was now aimed directly at Dr. Carmichael's head.

"Steven, manners!" Danny exclaimed breathlessly, tiredly shaking his head about Steve's strange behavior. He looked at his partner as if he had lost his mind, wearily raising a trembling hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "What the hell is the matter with you?" he asked hoarsely, raising his eyebrows as he stared at the other man before he turned his head and gently addressed the woman in front of him. "I apologize for my partner, sometimes he's a real…"

"Danny, don't," Steve interrupted him curtly and Danny's mouth snapped shut when he heard the seriousness in Steve's voice.

Cautiously shifting his weight a little bit to find a more comfortable position, Danny tried to ignore the pain in his right leg and the overall exhaustion that had settled down deep inside his body. "Steve, what's wrong?" he asked slowly, his gaze travelling warily between his partner and his doctor.

"She's the one who poisoned you," Steve explained quietly, exchanging a brief look with Danny before he took a small step toward Dr. Carmichael. "I said, put your hands up and step back from the bed." Steve's voice and posture made clear that he wouldn't stand for any nonsense and finally the young woman responded to his instructions.

"I didn't poison him," she said, sounding almost bored, mockingly raising her hands a little bit as she stepped back from the bed.

"No, but you ordered it," Steve hissed furiously. He motioned her to take a few more steps back until he was sure that she was no longer a direct threat to his partner.

Dr. Carmichael looked at the two men in front of her, a mocking smile on her flawless face. She slowly raised her right hand to tuck a lock of red hair behind her ear with a perfect little gesture that showed that she was clearly aware of her outstanding beauty. The sneer on her lips grew even bigger when Steve reacted to her movement with tightening the grip around the butt of his gun that was still aimed at her head.

"Steve, I have absolutely no idea what is going on here but do you really think that is necessary?" Danny asked clearly confused, weakly pointing at Steve's weapon before he dropped his hands back to his lap.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Steve replied angrily, his gaze only briefly flickering to his partner, never letting the red-haired woman out of sight. "Dr. Carmichael is the one who is behind the attempt on your life."

"I heard you, babe, but right now she doesn't seem to be a threat…" Danny said, his voice trailing off when he closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to gather his strength. "And I'm way too tired to play games. So why don't you put your weapon down and tell me the whole story?"

Danny's voice was colored with pain and fatigue and the worry for his partner finally overrode the anger inside Steve. With a last cold frown at Dr. Carmichael he slowly stowed his weapon away and stepped closer to his partner. "Hey, you alright?" he asked softly as he put a hand on Danny's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Did she hurt you?" Breathing out a relieved sigh when Danny immediately shook his head, Steve scowled worriedly when he felt the slight tremor of Danny's body underneath his fingers and he suggested a little bit more forcefully, "Come on, Danny, lie down. You don't need to be up for this."

"Just tell me what's going on," Danny replied breathlessly; stubbornly shaking his head he finally opened his eyes and blinked sluggishly. He took another deep breath and when he locked eyes with his partner, Steve knew instantly that there was no chance that Danny would give in. He wouldn't lie down and rest until he'd heard the whole story and judging by his current condition it was probably the best to start the explanation as soon as possible before Danny crashed right in front of his eyes.

"Alright," McGarrett breathed out, resignedly shaking his head about Danny's stubbornness. He briefly gathered his thoughts, pondering what would be the best way to begin the story before he took a deep breath and started to talk.

He listed everything he, Chin and Kono had found out during the last few hours, starting with the mechanism in Danny's shoe, the stolen poison from Professor Angelo's laboratory and last but not least he told the sad story about Timothy Dorosz and his family. When he repeated the content of the suicide note he shifted his gaze from Dr. Carmichael to his partner, knowing that the special father-daughter relationship would probably hit him hard.

While Dr. Carmichael nonchalantly leaned against the wall a few steps away from Danny's bed, absently twiddling with her fingernails while she listened to Steve's explanations, Danny grew more and more restless and angry with every passing second.

"So, do I have this right?" Danny asked hoarsely once Steve had finished, breathing heavily to fight the exhaustion that slowly threatened to gain the upper hand. He furrowed his brow when he stared at Dr. Carmichael who returned his look, a curious little smile curling around her lips. "You first poisoned me…" Danny quickly interrupted himself when he saw Dr. Carmichael contorting her face, quashing her objection with an annoyed wave of his right hand. "You first hired someone to poison me," he impatiently corrected his former question, slightly shaking his head when he tried to come up with a satisfying answer. "And then you saved my life? Well, maybe I'm a bit slow but why the hell would you do that?"

Cocking her head a little bit to the right, Dr. Carmichael once more tucked her hair behind her ear while she silently watched Danny, the smug smile on her lips brightening when she noticed his confused expression. After a while she became serious and breathed out a faint little sigh, apparently considering whether he was worth the effort of an answer or not.

"Because she's totally crazy," Steve offered a mumbled explanation when Dr. Carmichael remained silent, throwing the young woman an angry look.

That one whispered sentence was finally shaking Dr. Carmichael out of her silent reverie and the expression on her beautiful face changed in an instant. She tightly compressed her lips and her pale blue eyes started to sparkle dangerously when she pushed herself off the wall and squared her shoulders.

The sudden change in her posture caused Steve to place his right hand on the butt of his weapon and he instinctively took a small step forward to protect his partner but it soon turned out that Dr. Carmichael didn't intend to hurt anyone. She just stood rooted to the spot, angrily clenching and unclenching her fists; red flecks had appeared on her cheeks, clearly shimmering through the thin layer of make-up she was wearing, eventually showing a crack in her otherwise flawless appearance.

Her gaze flickered unsteadily between the two men in front of her until it finally came to rest on Steve. "You have no idea what you're talking about. You don't know me and you certainly have no right to judge me," Dr. Carmichael hissed furiously through gritted teeth. "I'm a damn good doctor, but nobody takes me seriously because I'm young and attractive. I can't take this anymore. I need to make people see that I'm more than a pretty face in a white coat."

Staring steadfastly at Steve, she didn't blink once and her eyes sparkled madly in her pale face when she slowly raised her right hand and disparagingly pointed in Danny's direction. "Without me he would be dead," the young doctor said matter-of-factly, narrowing her eyes as she waited for Steve's reaction.

"Without you he wouldn't have been here in the first place," McGarrett retorted angrily, screwing up his face when he stared back at her in complete bewilderment. The more he heard, the surer he was that this woman was totally crazy and all he wanted to do was to lock her up for the rest of her life, far away from Danny and everybody else he cared about.

"I saved his life," Dr. Carmichael replied pointedly, shifting her gaze from Steve to Danny who was heavily leaning onto his left hand to keep himself upright but still stubbornly refused to lie down. "I was the only one who knew how to treat you, wasn't I?" the red-haired woman asked gently, briefly furrowing her brow when she noticed Danny's condition, the beads of sweat on his pale face and the slight tremor that repeatedly ran through his body.

Exchanging a quick look of mutual understanding and disbelief, Steve and Danny agreed silently that Dr. Carmichael definitely was totally and completely crazy. Of course she had known about the best treatment for Danny because she was directly responsible for his illness but nevertheless she seemed to be really proud of her achievement.

Feeling his strength slipping with every passing second, Danny tried to sit up straighter, taking a deep breath before he weakly cleared his throat. "What about Tim Dorosz?" he asked hoarsely, raising his eyebrows when he saw the questioning look that Dr. Carmichael threw him. "The man you hired to poison me," he clarified, his anger raising another notch when it became clear that that name had absolutely no meaning for the young woman. "You used an innocent man and his mortally ill daughter to carry out your sick plans? What kind of doctor are you? You promised that man to care for his little girl; he did everything you asked him to do and then his daughter died before she even got the promised therapy. Does that leave you totally cold?"

Danny was breathing heavily once he had finished his little tirade, staring angrily at the young woman in front of him for a long moment before he sadly shook his head and wearily closed his eyes.

"That little girl was beyond any help," Dr. Carmichael indifferently rejected Danny's outburst with a shrug of her shoulders. "There was nothing more I could have done for her but her father was willing to do what I asked of him. He was just a means to an end and his job as an electrician fitted perfectly in my plans."

The young doctor obviously didn't care any longer about whitewashing her actions, now openly talking about them. "Everything was so easy," she murmured, her blue eyes taking on a distant look when she stared at an invisible point somewhere above Danny's right shoulder. "I knew it would be easy to steal the poison from Helen's laboratory and she never once suspected me to be the thief. But I'd never have thought that it would be even easier to place the poison in your apartment…" Her voice trailed off and she sluggishly blinked a few times, cocking her head when she shifted her gaze back to Danny. The smug little smile from before reappeared on her lips and she giggled quietly, "I heard that you even voluntarily opened the door. It was almost too easy."

Letting her eyes travel over Danny's slumped body, she added with an approving nod of her head, "I could have chosen anyone, you know? But I'm really glad that in the end I chose you, Detective."

Steve felt a huge wave of anger surging through his body when he heard her words but before he could voice his opinion Danny started to talk.

"So, let me get this straight," he croaked out, interrupting himself a few times to catch his breath and gather his strength. "You first stole some deadly poison from your best friend's lab, then you hired an innocent man to do all the dirty work for you, to poison a random victim and everything just to prove that you are a good doctor?"

Dr. Carmichael slowly raised her right hand and nibbled at her thumbnail, staring at her patient while she pondered over Danny's question. "That sums it up pretty well," she finally confirmed proudly, smiling brightly at Danny's accurate summary.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Danny weakly waved his right hand through the air, opening and closing his mouth a few times until he had found the right words. Turning his head toward his partner, he said quietly, "I think you were right, Steven, she definitely is totally crazy."

"Yes, she is," Steve confirmed grimly, cutting off any further discussion when he took in his friend's condition. Sweat was dripping from Danny's ashen face and his whole body was shaking in a constant tremor; he was barely able to keep his eyes open and his breath was coming in short, chopped gasps. "OK, that's enough now," Steve said forcefully, taking a step forward to place his hand on Danny's shoulder. "You look like death warmed over and I want you to lie down right now. Do you hear me, Danny?"

Blinking sluggishly, Danny's lips slightly curled in amusement at Steve's commanding tone but he was way too tired to come up with a fitting response, so he only weakly raised his head and briefly locked eyes with his partner. "Just one more question, okay?" he asked hoarsely, not waiting for Steve to answer before he turned toward Dr. Carmichael. "Is there a reason why you chose me in the first place?" he wanted to know, curiously watching the young woman who still absently nibbled at her thumbnail.

Looking down at him, the red-haired doctor slightly shrugged her shoulders. "You're a member of Five-0, a local celebrity. I figured that saving you was even better publicity for me."

"And you really thought you were going to get away with this?" Steve asked in bewilderment, his hand still resting on Danny's shoulder. "You never thought we would ask questions, for example how exactly Danny would have come in contact with jellyfish poison?"

"There are lots of jellyfish in the ocean," Dr. Carmichael replied carelessly, once again shrugging her shoulders. She briefly nodded toward Danny and explained with a bored yawn, "Everyone in Hawaii loves the ocean and jellyfish contact is not uncommon. And I bet he surfs; at least he looks like a surfer, doesn't he? So it would be easy for him to get stung."

"I look… I look like a surfer?" Danny stammered flabbergasted, an expression of pure horror appearing on his face that made Steve almost laugh out loud. Taking a closer look at his partner, McGarrett bit back the comment that he had on the tip of his tongue; he very much treasured his life and never ever would he dare to utter that thought in front of his friend, but deep inside Steve had to agree with Dr. Carmichael. Without the usual amount of hair products Danny's hair was soft and a little bit curly and despite his deathly pallor he really looked a little bit like a surfer.

"I look like a surfer," Danny repeated gloomily with a defeated flick of his right wrist before the last bit of strength seemed to leave his body. Taking a deep breath and exhaustedly closing his eyes he whispered quietly, "Now she's literally adding insult to injury. I think it's finally time to arrest her."

"My sentiments exactly, Danno," Steve replied with a chuckle, gently squeezing Danny's shoulder. "And for you it's time to finally lie down, don't you think?"

Without waiting for Danny to agree Steve turned around and faced the young doctor. "Gladys Carmichael," he started, searching for a pair of handcuffs in one of his many pockets. "You are under arrest for…"

"Steve?" Danny interrupted him, his voice quiet and hoarse but a little bit stronger than before.

Turning back toward his partner, Steve raised his eyebrows when he watched Danny laboriously struggle to his feet. "What exactly are you doing, Danny? You are supposed to lie down," McGarrett huffed out in annoyance.

Completely ignoring Steve's comment Danny managed to stand up without help, heavily supporting himself on the bed frame to keep his balance. "If you don't mind," he rasped, slowly stretching out his right hand toward the handcuffs.

Staring at his partner for a long moment, Steve finally heaved a deep sigh. He knew exactly what Danny had in mind and he also knew that Danny needed to do this on his own – as much for his own sake as for the sake of the man that had been forced to do evil in order to save his little daughter.

Noticing the tremor of Danny's legs, the tight grip around the bed frame, the fast, shallow breathing and the beads of sweat on his pale face, it took all of Steve's willpower not to interfere but he reluctantly gritted his teeth and nodded barely noticeably. Clenching his fists around the handcuffs he sighed again, eyeballing his partner as Danny slowly wiggled the fingers of his outstretched hand.

"If you don't mind," Danny repeated a bit breathlessly but with strong determination that tolerated no dissent.

Steve hesitated only for a heartbeat but when he saw the glint in his friend's eyes the ghost of a smile played around his lips and he raised his arm to give Danny the handcuffs. This would be the first important step of recovery for Danny and the smile on Steve's face increased when the two men locked eyes and Steve nodded solemnly.

"Book her, Danno."

**(tbc)**

* * *

I honestly thought that this story would be finished here but the muse insisted on one more little chapter… stay tuned for the epilogue which will be posted in the next few days…


	12. Epilogue

Here is it, the final chapter. Thank you so much for sticking with me until the end - I really appreciated all your fantastic reviews!  
Thank you **JazzieG** for all the fast betaing, and thank you **rewob17** for all the discussions about the storyline - you two are great :-)

* * *

**Epilogue:**

Danny sighed silently when he looked at the bottom line of the invoice the garage owner had just handed him, hoping that his insurance would absorb the major part of the repair costs. Not that it really mattered because Danny strongly intended to let his partner pay for everything the insurance didn't cover; Steve was directly responsible for all the damage to the Camaro, so Danny found it only fair that he should finally face the consequences.

He looked up to throw a glance outside, slightly amused when he saw said partner pacing around the Camaro, examining every single part of the car and peeking into every single window, going so far as to try opening the driver's door. Almost laughing out loud about Steve's disappointed expression when he found it locked, Danny shifted his weight a little bit, using the old familiar cane to keep his balance when an uncomfortable wave of pain crawled up his right leg.

After five days in the hospital – a lot more than Dr. Sakagami had originally foreseen because of some heart enzymes and other blood values that were far from satisfying – this was his first day of freedom and Danny had insisted on going directly to the garage to pick up his Camaro. During those last few days Steve had repeatedly tried to convince Danny to return the car keys that he had grudgingly handed over after Danny had reminded him of his promise, but to no avail. Danny had even got Chin and Kono on board who had promised faithfully to stop Steve from picking up the Camaro; a task that hadn't been easy but in the end the cousins had been successful.

Smirking brightly, Danny watched how Steve rounded the car once more before he leaned his back against the hood, crossing his arms in front of his chest, only to nervously jump to his feet a few seconds later. McGarrett looked like he suffered a severe case of withdrawal symptoms, a sight that Danny found extremely funny and that he could have enjoyed all day long.

"I hope everything is to your full satisfaction."

Danny turned around when the voice of the garage owner pulled him out of his reverie, his good mood even increasing when he saw the twinkle in the other man's eyes.

"I'm sure it is," Danny replied cheerfully, briefly setting aside the cane to shake hands. "Thank you very much for your help."

"It was my pleasure, Detective Williams, it was my pleasure," the mechanic chuckled quietly while he held the door open for Danny to hobble outside.

Fishing his car keys out of his pocket, Danny leaned heavily on the cane as he slowly limped toward his partner. Dr. Sakagami had assured him that the pain would eventually die down completely but he hadn't been able to tell when exactly that would be – it could be days as well as weeks and until then Danny had decided to reactivate his cane to help him get through the fits of pain that bothered him every so often.

"Hey, you alright?" Steve asked worriedly, hurrying to his friend's side when he noticed the limping.

"I'm good, don't worry," Danny shrugged off Steve's concern, the car keys jingling between his fingers when he waved his left hand through the air. McGarrett briefly raised his eyebrows at Danny's comment, trying to decide if his partner was telling the truth but after a heartbeat his gaze involuntarily flickered to Danny's left hand.

Narrowing his eyes when he saw Steve's attention zeroing in on the car keys, Danny raised his left hand for testing purposes and slowly drew a few big circles into the air, choking down a bout of laughter when Steve's eyes followed his every movement like a snake the sounds of a snake charmer.

After a few seconds, Steve finally cleared his throat and slightly shook his head, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the jingling keys, obviously unaware of Danny's teasing.

"Are you sure you're up to driving?" he asked, trying to sound completely detached. "I mean, your leg… the doc said you should take it easy for a while…" His voice trailed off when he locked eyes with his partner; Steve licked his lips and his fingers twitched slightly as if he wanted to snatch the keys out of Danny's hand at every moment.

"I said, I'm good, Steven," Danny replied patiently as both men slowly walked toward the car, pretending not to notice Steve's constant fidgeting and his obsession with the keys.

"Are you sure?" Steve repeated his question, and this time Danny was sure that he heard a hint of whining in his voice.

"If you want to drive my car, why don't you just say it?" Danny replied, stopping dead in his tracks and turning around to face his friend. "Why don't you just ask for it? Maybe I'd be nice and let you drive." Danny cocked his head a little bit to the right and curiously watched the taller man.

"You'd really let me drive?" Steve asked hoarsely, his face lighting up like a Christmas tree when Danny didn't raise an objection.

"Sure, go on," Danny shrugged his shoulders indifferently, locking eyes with his partner. He definitely needed to see Steve's face during the next part of the conversation that was inevitably lying ahead of them. "Go on, drive my car. It's not like you promised on my deathbed or anything."

"It wasn't on your deathbed, Danny," Steve replied immediately, scrunching up his face as if the dentist had pulled out a tooth without anesthesia.

"Oh, it wasn't? I'm glad to hear that," Danny exclaimed sarcastically, staring at Steve for a long moment before he slowly raised his left hand and presented Steve the keys. "If that's the truth, then go on. Take them."

Hesitantly taking the offered keys from Danny's outstretched hand, Steve asked warily, "Are you trying to make me feel guilty?"

Danny slightly shrugged his shoulders and casually asked back, "Is it working?"

"No?!" Steve replied forcefully, but his answer sounded unsure even to his own ears.

"Then go on," Danny repeated good-humoredly, pointing at the driver's seat of his silver Camaro. "What are you waiting for?"

Steve took one or two hesitant steps toward the car; then he stopped and turned around, suspiciously narrowing his eyes when he saw the impish grin on Danny's face. "What's that face?" he asked slowly.

"Isn't that usually my line?" Danny burst out laughing.

"Would you please stop answering my questions with even more questions?" Steve scowled at his partner.

Danny looked back at him; silently enjoying Steve's confusion and annoyance as long as he dared to without upsetting his friend too much, then he slowly started to grin and asked, "Can we go now?" He took a step toward the taller man when there was no immediate answer and tried to snatch back the keys from his hands but Steve was faster and moved out of Danny's reach.

"I'll drive," Steve stated clipped, making his position clear by teasingly waving the keys in front of Danny's face before he turned around and headed toward the waiting Camaro without taking further notice of his partner.

"You can try," Danny gleefully mumbled under his breath just when Steve used the keys to unlock the car.

Whirling around, Steve narrowed his eyes when he tried to read the expression on Danny's face. "Sorry, what was that?" he asked, eyeing the other man suspiciously as he waited for an answer.

"What was what?" Danny replied, completely acting the innocent, using both hands to lean on his cane.

Both men stared at each other for almost a minute until Steve finally decided that it was probably best to ignore Danny's strange behavior, puffing out an annoyed sigh which made the grin on Danny's face even brighter. "Are you coming now, Daniel?" he asked impatiently as he opened the driver's door and climbed in the car.

Noticing that the driver's seat was snapped in a position that didn't provide enough space for his long legs, Steve bent forward to pull the lever so that he could rearrange the seat according to his needs. He pushed backwards, furrowing his brow when nothing happened. He released the lever and pulled it again, pushing once more with all his might but the seat stubbornly refused to move.

"Is there a problem, Steven?" Danny asked sweetly, unsuccessfully trying to stifle a laugh.

"Danny," Steve growled, turning his head to look at his friend who was still standing next to the car, lazily leaning onto his cane while he watched Steve's predicament. "What have you done?"

"What have I done?" Danny repeated, barely able to talk properly because he started to giggle every time he looked at Steve whose knees were uncomfortably jammed beneath the steering wheel. "I haven't done anything, Steven. I was in the hospital the last five days if I remember correctly."

He burst out laughing when Steve once more unsuccessfully tried to move the seat out of its original position. "But maybe I engaged Chin and Kono to talk to the garage owner about a little additional order," Danny finally took pity on his partner and explained the situation. "I think there was something wrong with the driver's seat," he said pensively while his blue eyes sparkled gleefully. "Its position just didn't fit my body height so I ordered a few minor adjustments. You certainly don't mind, do you?"

Taking a step closer to the car, Danny looked down at his partner who silently stared back at him, totally dumbfounded about the whole situation.

"You look a little bit uncomfortable in there, Steven," Danny said quietly, cocking his head a little bit to the right as if he was pondering his next question. "How about I drive?" he finally suggested, once more having a laughing fit when Steve awkwardly emerged from the driver's seat and wordlessly rounded the car to take his place in the passenger's seat.

Still laughing Danny carelessly flung his cane onto the rear seat before he also slipped in the car, amazed at the position of the seat that was indeed perfectly adjusted to his size. He turned his head to the right and smirked at his partner who stared back at him in a mixture of anger and amusement. The faint glint in Steve's eyes told Danny that McGarrett was already thinking about how to overcome this unexpected obstacle and he knew for sure what would be the first thing Steve would do once he got his hands on a screw driver.

But for now Danny was content that his plan had worked and that he was driving his own car just this once – and after another look at Steve's face he was sure that he would enjoy every single second of it.

**THE END**


End file.
